A Business Deal for a Friend
by Prof. Pancakes
Summary: Deals are made for the one known as Gordon Freeman, yet the one who accepts such deals is none other than the mysterious man himself. When the time comes to accept a job from a dear "Business Partner", there is none other than the one Freeman to do it.
1. Chapter 1

**Hello and welcome to this One-Shot here. I've been playing Half-Life again and I'm really enjoying it once again, and I wanted to build something off of it, so please enjoy.**

 **I don't own anything.**

Blackness was the only thing that surrounded Gordon. There was no sound, light, just complete darkness. He couldn't even see, or feel his hands, making him close his eyes once more to fully allow the darkness to envelope him...

He quickly opened his eyes once more and realized that he was no longer in the unconscious state he once was. Attemptinglook around, he noticed that his attempts where fruitless and everything he thought before was true, and that there was absolutely nothing around him. He tried to sigh, but there was nothing there. It was as if he didn't exist as anything but a floating consciousness drifting through the abyss of nothing.

Before he could continue to think of his surroundings, a man appeared in front of him, or at least what he thought was in front, and it was someone he knew too well, yet at the same time is the biggest mystery in his life.

In front of him stood a middle-aged Caucasian male, with a tall, thin physique, pale skin, a widow's peak that styled a black crew cut, and pale green eyes that seemed to pear into the very being that Gordon was. What he was wearing is what he always saw him in, a gray-blue suit, with a tie, and his briefcase that he was always seen with.

Gordon attempted to speak but noticed that his voice was void of all being, and stayed content with being silent as there was no other option.

The mysterious... man spoke up.

"Time, Doctor Freeman? Is it really that time again? It seems as if you only just arrived. You've done so well before, and you've done so well, in fact, that I've received some more interesting offers for your services."

He walked what seem to be closer to the floating consciousness of Gordon.

"Normally, my employers would wish..." He paused for a second before inhaling, "For me to just have you get straight to work." He began to pace around the empty abyss. "You see Doctor Freeman; this next job is from a long-time business partner of mine." He inhaled deeply once again. "I've of course taken the liberties of accepting this deal, and... I would not worry about collecting payment as...always. I've already done so..." He turned to face Gordon once again before inhaling, and taking a look at his watch.

"Since this is one off the books," His S seeming to drag" Time is not of the essence, but nonetheless, we've wasted more than enough." Looking away from the watch and back to Gordon. "I've taken the pleasure of... preparing your necessary equipment. None of it was company property besides your suit, so... don't worry about damages that come to it." He turned away and began to walk further into the empty abyss.

"I've said it before Doctor Freeman, but, it's time to... wake up and... smell the ashes." And he was gone.

The immediate change of space and time itself took the toll on Gordon as his feet hit the ground in below him. His hands gripping whatever he was standing on, his eyes on the ground and a feeling of being once again returning to him. He only lifted his head slightly and noticed the only thing he had since the explosion at the Citadel.

Laying right before him was the Zero Point Energy Field Manipulator. He smiled before also letting his eyes follow his arms up that he was wearing the HEV Mark V once again. The suit still fitting like a glove, he chuckled at what he remembered his old friend Kleiner saying, "At least the glove parts do." Directly on his leg was something he was the proudest of though. Attached to a makeshift gun holster, turned crowbar holder was nonother than the thing that had been there the entire time.

The color faded crowbar stood out to his HEV suit as the steel, and red contrasted the bright orange that adorned him.

He reached up to adjust his glasses but his hands met an alien surface to him. He brought both hands up to his face before realizing what was stopping him. What sat on his shoulders for what felt like in forever was the very helmet that was gone on the day of the incident. Well maybe not the exact helmet, but it was one that belonged to the many suits like his. The fact that it was here on his shoulders was something else to say since he didn't even realize it was there to begin with until he tried to feel his own face.

He glanced towards and noticed the two values sitting next to one another. His own health sitting on a clean one-hundred percent while his suit's power was experiencing the same thing that happened in the Citadel. The suit was charged at two-hundred percent, and for him, he didn't care one bit.

As he started to stand up he noticed a strange weight on his back. Reaching back, he realized what was attached there and smiled. It was nonother than the long-jump module that he used while on Xen to cross the islands that were scattered there.

Upon fully standing up, he heard a very familiar ding and sighed upon realizing what it was. A familiar feminine voice soon followed.

 _Welcome to the H.E.V mark IV protective system, for use in hazardous environment conditions._

 _High Impact reactive armor activated_

 _Atmospheric contaminant sensors activated_

 _Vital sign monitoring activated_

 _Automatic medical systems engaged_

 _Defensive weapon selection system activated_

 _Ammunition level monitoring activated_

 _Communications interface online_

A few more seconds went by and another ding went off.

 _Have a very safe day!_

Gordon sighed as he reached down to pick up the Zero Point Energy Field Manipulator, or 'Gravity Gun' that Alyx calls it. He stopped his hands right before grabbing ahold of it and jerking back up. He quickly glanced around.

He remembered the last place they were was at the top of the Citadel when the explosion went off, then everything stopped...

He shook his head.

He knew Alyx better than that...well at least he thinks he did. She would make it out and meet up with the others. He just needed to get back to... where they... were supposed to meet up...

The room he was in shook rather much, and caused him to take a more stable position by holding onto a nearby desk.

Gordon finally began to take in his surroundings. The first thing he noticed was the large amount of gears that were spread throughout the room... no, it was more like an office, and that there were also large gears and that they were put together like that of a clock...

Gordon smack a fist onto his open palm. He got it. It was something like a steampunk office, and that clocks were the theme in this situation. Suddenly right in front of him he noticed a rather large broken window, and outside having risen up what looked to be like smoke. He quickly walked over and looked outside and saw exactly what was going on.

Going on below were multitudes of fires spread across what seemed to be many buildings, and with it the smoke that was rising above. What mainly caught his attention was the multitude of black shadows that were running along the ground at such speeds he would think they were wild animals. He thought for a moment and remembered that no animal has a pack that large, let alone mammals. He realized that with a helmet now he had a zoom function that installed in it. Looking towards the ground much closer, he realized that they were not any normal mammals.

The beasts on the ground were completely black, and the only things that stood out were the small cracks in between the massive crowds and the white, and red that was adorned across their bodies like some sort of bone plating.

He tried leaning closer but was suddenly knocked back by a strong gust of wind and a massive black body flew up past him in outside the window.

Gordon got back up to his feet and ran back to the now shattered window, putting his hands on the sides to stop himself in case of falling. He then noticed what exactly was that just flew in front of him.

He said to himself. "I know I said steampunk, but I'm pretty sure this is practically Harry Potter at this point."

Over the area outside was a massive black dragon-like beast soaring through the air. Massive blood-red wings stretched out to what looked like to be a football's field length; not that Gordon knew for sure. Bones protruding from its body at multiple points and the rest of its outside anatomy giving off the almost exact appearance of an undead dragon from his younger days. It began to turn around and come back towards the tower. He quickly ran towards a pillar and hugged his back to it to hid himself. He could feel the dragon land onto the tower and it bring its head down to the floor below him.

He quickly shook away this thought and began glancing around once again. He looked down at his feet and noticed that there was another ground level below him. On that very floor was a woman wearing what looked to be a crimson red, and he could say a rather revealing dress with some intricate designs upon it. Gordon couldn't trouble himself with the looks of the dress; he was a man of science, not a fashion designer.

She was standing in front of the window, and in her case, it wasn't broken, and right outside was the dragon, who then let out a massive roar that shook Gordon to his very core. He was used to fighting aliens and the government, not mystical creatures that appeared in his books that he used to read. He noticed the woman began to speak.

Gordon tried his very best to hear, and there was only a single phrase, or at least he thought it was a single phrase.

"Siht si ruoy emoh won" In which the dragon gave some sort of whimper... roar? Again, he was a man of physics, not a veterinarian.

The woman began to take a few steps back, her face beginning to look rather agitated. Then there was something that really caught Gordon off guard. The woman summoned flames in her hand. It went away just as fast as it came, her attention turning to what looked to be an elevator behind her. He turned his attention that was as well, noticing another shaking feeling as sparks started to appear from the bottom of the doors.

A distinct ding of and elevator and what came next truly confused Gordon. A red sword came spinning out of the elevator and right towards the black-haired woman, in which easily side-stepped it as if it was nothing, and right along with it was a golden shield which she also blocked, but what really caught him off guard was the girl that was flying in right behind it, her feet kicking the shield into her.

She kickflipped off and the shield went as well. Gordon got a quick look at the girl; an Amazonian, or a Spartonian... He cursed himself for such simplistic vocabulary before realizing that the girls supposed weapons were floating back into her hands. He tried to think if she used the same technology that Captain America used with his shield, or maybe some sort of polarized science... yet he simply left it at that it was some sort of magic. He realized at that moment that he was much more open to the unknown at this point. First was electricity shooting aliens, massive robot dogs, and now dragons. He shook off his confusion and glanced back downwards.

He noticed the two were still fighting in ways that seemed completely illogical. The woman in the dress was firing streams of fire at the girl, over and over while she dodged or blocked them with her shield. She pushed back the stream of fire and went for a stop, but the black-haired woman stopped the blade with her bare hand, and then proceeded to blast her away.

Gordon looked away for a second to find the gravity gun and hopefully stop this before it turned into a blood-bath. He glanced around and saw what could have possibly been the worst thing he could encounter at this moment. The gravity gun was being held by the leather strap he attached to it so he could carry it easier, and that very strap was wrapped around a thing piece of metal that was dangling over the current area the two women were fighting.

"You've got to be kidding me." He jumped onto his feet, but not before the building shook once more. He saw the dragon was flying off and a small part of him felt relief; it was quickly replaced by the sliding of the gun off the piece that was holding it in place. He ran forward and dove onto the ground. Sliding off the platform he was on, he grabbed onto it with one hand, and the gravity gun in the other. He sighed in relief once more. He glanced down and saw the red-haired girl had the woman in a lock with her arm and sword around her neck, and at her neck.

He felt like relaxing at the moment but remembered that he was hanging for his health right now. He glanced up and saw that he had a good grip for the moment before glancing back down. He noticed the Spartan was glancing at where the dragon took off. He let his eyes trail over in the direction and saw exactly what she was looking at. The dragon was making its way back towards the building, more like directly at it as if to ram it heads on. Gordon began to attempt to pull himself up. He tossed the gravity gun up over the ledge and began to pull himself up, using all the upper body strength he had. He glanced once more at the dragon and saw that it was pulling off the side to the bit, and so he looked down, only to see the Spartan getting jabbed by what seemed to be the strongest elbow he'd seen in his life.

She flew back as all the windows around them shattered, sending glass in all directions, and destroying the supports by breaking the very stone that held them together. The tower seemed to begin to tilt.

Gordon reached back up and took ahold of the gravity gun, sliding over and onto his back. He glanced down once more as he felt his weight moving more towards the falling section of the building. He started to glance around for something to grab ahold of and spotted a ledge that didn't look to be part of the collapsing section that he was holding onto. As it continued to fall, he took a few deep breaths before taking a leap of faith.

As if time stopped, Gordon seemingly hung in the air for what seemed to be like at most minuets, but he was quickly brought back to reality by the sudden falling feeling, and what he now noticed to be a miscalculation in his jump. As he reached out his left hand towards the incoming ledge, he felt something very crucial with his right.

He quickly brought out his crowbar and swung it onto the ledge that he was originally going for. The gravity gun swing on his back, knocking him into the broken stone tower. Along with it was the feminine voice.

 _Minor fracture detected_

He glanced down at his suits readings and noticed that he was still in rather good shape. Ninety-seven for his health and about one-hundred and eighty-nine for his power. Either way, he was still feeling it.

Gordon chuckled to himself. 'I didn't calculate wrong, I can't possibly do that, I'm a damn MIT graduate, and one at theoretical physics at that!' He sighed. 'Just forgot to implement actually using the crowbar.'

He hung there for a few seconds as he continued to hear clashing going on above him. He grunted as he finally began to pull himself up, well at least attempt a few times before successfully pulling himself up off the ledge, letting the crowbar slide back into its make-shift holster and laying on his stomach while watching what was going on in front of him.

A multitude of gears hung in the air above the black-haired woman and from the looks of it, was not expecting it. He swung his head over to the Spartan and realized that she might be the one that is actually controlling those gears. He glanced back to the woman and noticed that she had her feet knocked into the air and began having the gears pile driving her into the ground, in which he proceeded to wince in pain for her.

A few seconds passed and a bright orange glow appeared beneath the gears. Gordon quickly made his way to his feet and brought out his gravity gun, feeling it hum to life, and finally taking notice that it was the same was as his suit; no longer did it have its orange glow, but rather the light blue, and he knew exactly what it was capable at this point.

The pile of gears then erupted, sending them everywhere. He quickly rolled off to the side, dodging one of the massive clockwork pieces. He noticed the Spartan get not so lucky as she was sent flying backwards and into a broken pillar. Gordon recognized a strange red sparkle go across the girl, and it strangely reminded him of an energy shield since it didn't look like she took and physical damage at all.

Standing up, he noticed the woman was perfectly fine, and standing where the pile of gears once was. In her hands was a bow, and it was pointed directly at the Spartan, who in turn was quickly making her way back onto her feet. She dashed towards the woman, throwing her shield as she began to draw the bow back with an arrow, releasing it as it flew towards her. Time seemed to slow down once more as the two flew towards one another. Gordon thought the arrow was simply clash away from the shield once it made impact, but was shown he was highly mistaken. The arrow itself broke into what looked like small embers before reforming into the exactly same arrow and flying directly into the Spartan's ankle, causing her to fall down. She tried to stand up but fell right back onto the ground.

Gordon was, at this point, at a complete loss on what to do. He seemed to always react on instinct whenever his life was in danger, but since it wasn't, he felt, not lost, but rather confused on what to do. Should he rush over to help the Spartan, or attack the crazy fire woman. He noticed that the woman was walking closer to her, and also noticed that the arrow that was once imbedded in her ankle was no longer there.

He heard the woman speak, or at least attempt to understand as he didn't understand their language at all, as she began to walk around the fallen warrior.

"sruoy ylurt reven saw taht rewop a desimorp erew uoy etanutrofnu s'tI." She lifted the Spartan up by her chin. **"** denigami evah reven dluoc uoy syaw ni ti esu lliw I taht gniwonk ni trofmoc ekat tuB **."**

The Spartan looked at her straight in the eyes and replied. "ynitsed ni eveileb uoy oD?"

The woman looked back at her and spoke a single word. "seY."

The woman began to summon her bow and Gordon knew exactly what to do. He pointed the gravity gun towards the fallen warrior's shield and pulling it towards him, the hum of the machine ready to do his bidding. She knocked her magical arrow, but was never given the chance to pull it back since a shield went flying into her side and knocked her off into a pile rubble.

The young Spartan quickly looked at the pile of rubble where the woman flew and then towards Gordon, who's presence was completely avoided until this point. She looked to as if ask a question but was quickly cut off by two sudden occurrences.

The woman blasting out of the rubble and a small girl in a red hood and a massive scythe appearing on the edge. All of which was staring at him and no one else. The warrior quickly turned to the scythe wielding child and shouted. "won ereh fo tuo teg ot deen uoy ybuR!"

It was quickly responded with her shouting back. "ahrryP uoy tuohtiw gnivael ton m'I!"

The woman summoned her strange bow once more and also joined in the shouting. "enim yllufthgir si tahw niatbo I litnu ton ,evila ereh evael ot gniog era uoy fo enoN!"

Gordon brought his gravity gun up once again and hummed it to life, pulling the bow from the grip of the woman catching her off-guard, and launching it back into her, making her stumble back.

Gordon quickly pointed towards the two girls with his fingers since he guessed that his words weren't going to come across anyways. He then pointed with a single finger towards the exit...that he couldn't see anywhere. The two girls seemed to understand him perfectly though as the scythe child ran up and lifted the warriors arm over her shoulders. They began to walk off as Gordon stood behind them as they walked away, looking towards the fire witch... yeah, fire witch. Harry Potter it is then.

She looked rather angry now, almost literal fire in, and around her eyes. "od ot gniht thgir eht si oreh gniyalp kniht uoY?" She pointed towards him, fire on her fingertips. "syad rof uoy gninrub ni emit ym ekat ll'I neht ,owt esoht llik I sa evila uoy peek ot gniog m'I!"

She lifted her hand and a stream of fire erupted from it. Gordon quickly reacted by calling back the shield with the gun and holding in front of him. The fire blast going everywhere around him, and with it, another ding.

 _Warning! Extreme heat damage detected!_

As the flames continued, he noticed that only his shield was going down and not his health. The flame disappeared only to see her flying towards him using the flames like jets coming from her hands. He launched the shield once more, only for her to knock it out of the way and send him flying into a nearby wall from whatever the hell she just hit him with. Again, the ding came back.

 _Major fracture detected!_

 _Automatic medical system engaged!_

 _Morphine administered_

Gordon felt the morphine enter his bloodstream and the extreme pain that was once all over his body was now beginning to dissipate. Looking down at his health, he quickly realized how out-classed he was by this fire-witch. His shield was down to fifty-six while his health was sitting at a nice sixty. Honestly, he was feeling like shit at this point.

For some odd reason, Gordon didn't seem like he could move, and looking up, he saw the witch was standing up over him... with a very strange smile. "netfo ot kcab emoc ot mees sepyt tnetsisrep uoy ;evila uoy gnipeek rehtob neve t'now I .siht naht retteb erew uoy thguoht I ,oreh a roF."

He quickly realized what she was doing as a bow began to materialize in her hands. She stepped back a few steps and aimed it towards Gordon. No matter what he tried, his entire body seemed to not want to move. An arrow then came along with the bow.

That was it. Gordon was going to die in some twisted super-human, Harry Potter world to some crazy fire witch; great. The arrow was let loose and went directly into his visor... But never came out the other side. The tip of the arrow stabbed the very tip of his nose, and yet again a beep was heard.

 _Minor lacerations detected_

He could move at this point, and that's exactly what he did. The witch had her back turned to him and that's exactly what he needed.

He could hear her speaking as he snuck up behind her as she walked closer to the edge. "nediaM llaF eht fo rewop lluf eht niag dna dlihc deye-revlis eht evomer ot ytinutrepo tcefrep eht, hhA ?nerdlihc oot ffo nur evah uoy dluoc erehw woN." The last part she said Gordon could for some odd reason understand perfectly. "What more could you ask for?"

Gordon was standing up fully now, his helmet in hand and crowbar in the other. He called out to her when he was only a few feet away. "I believe it's time for you to return to Hogwarts you bitch!" She turned around but was only met with a helmet to the face, which she responded with a slight tumble towards the edge. Almost there he thought as he ran towards her. Right in front of her, he swung the crowbar directly onto the side of her face, sending her over the edge in some sort of action flick where the villain is thrown off the edge, but this time, the 'hero' was going with. She grabbed ahold of his arm as she spun back around, pulling him off the edge.

There was no screaming as they began to fall since he could easily see on what she was going to try to do, and so Gordon wrapped as tightly as he could around her. In a nonprovocative way of course; he shook out the thought as they continued to fall. He noticed that the gravity gun was still in his hands and when he noticed the dragon flying towards him, he knew exactly what he needed to do. Being powered by a Xen crystal, there were certain qualities about it that could be utilized in its most raw state along with heat and an even more unstable power source. He began to twist any knobs he could feel while holding the trigger of the gun, feeling the shaking get more and more violent while at the same time the woman began to struggle more violently, and a heat source beginning to warm up much more than before.

She seemed to have some sort of dagger on her since a stabbing feeling started to appear on his back and his statues also was lower along with the constant blaring of his suit.

 _Major lacerations detected_

 _Major lacerations detected_

 _Major lacerations detected_

 _Internal bleeding detected_

 _Internal bleeding detected_

 _Warning! Extreme heat damage detected!_

 _Warning! Extreme heat damage detected!_

 _Vital signs critical!_

 _Seek medical attention_

 _Emergency! User death imminent!_

 _Seek medical attention!_

Gordon could feel his consciousness fading, he was on the very edge at this point. He could easily see the ground now, even with his glasses, but the blurry sight from blood loss didn't help either. The gravity gun became so violent that he let go of it, and at that very point, a flash of white enveloped everything around them. The tower, the two of them, and the dragon that was ever so close to eating him as well.

Everything stopped once again. The pain was gone but he was lying on the ground this time, and still wearing everything he had before except the helmet. There seemed to be a puddle of some sort below him, but without blood, everything seems... gone. His crowbar was lying attached to his leg again, but the biggest thing was that he was lying down on the tram once more, that very dammed tram he left Black Mesa on, and standing by his feet was that man again.

He straightened his tie as he stared down at him. "Well... Doctor Freeman," He inhaled deeply. "Your efforts have once again bore fruit on the tree known as business. I would treat you since you are one of our most... proud employees, but do you remember what I mentioned before? This was not part of the company, but rather for a business partner, and thus any materials belonging to the company are of course returned, except for a new addition, that... simple tool of yours."

Gordon knew what he was talking about, but he just couldn't find his voice to speak.

"I... have obtained the payment already, but," He inhaled deeply once again. "We have received another part of the deal... I must say, while I was not expecting it, it was most certainly beneficial to us both Doctor Freeman. I supposssse a cut is in order..." The man held out his free hand towards Gordon. A strange orange light floating towards, and into him. A strange feeling overcame him and the once fading feeling he had begun to go away.

"Think of this as an incentive to continue on the current job Doctor. When the time comes, I most certainly hope it's finished this time and we won't have any interruptions when the end finally does come around. Wake up Doctor Freeman, the time for rest is not yet arrived. Enjoy that with... you new associates." And with that, the man walked out of the tram leaving Gordon alone for only a few seconds before everything around him changed.

He was now standing up, well leaning on a tree. Blood still flowing down on his suit from the multiple wounds he received, now which were seemingly closing faster than before, but getting stabbed is still like getting stabbed so it didn't help. He was standing right on the edge of a clearing, and a large wooden cabin stood in front of him in the sunlight.

Gordon coughed out in front of him and droplets of blood began to drip form his mouth. Thank the gods he couldn't feel anything, even the feet he was standing on. He began to walk towards the cabin when he saw a young girl walk out the door, a rather gloom look on her face. She closed the door behind her and turned around to see him. Gordon quickly realized that it was the same girl he had met on the rooftop only minutes before. The sliver eyes gave it away, along with the whole red-riding hood vibe she was giving off.

She became wide-eyed as she ran over to him, stopping him from falling completely onto his knees. She shouted back towards the cabin. "mih s'ti ,ereh tuo teG !worQ elcnU !daD"

Two older men stepped out of the house, but Gordons vision was getting worse along with the pile of blood below him. Sure, he doesn't have a medical degree, but he sure knew that humans didn't have this much blood inside them.

One of the blurry figures shouted back towards her while running their way. "mih s'ohW?"

The girl spoke up once more, but once again, Gordon could understand her. "It's the man that saved us and caused that white flash."

She tried to move but it wasn't him, it was the suit. He coughed blood up again, and tried his hardest to keep it away from her. She hardly looked sixteen, and blood was the last thing she needed to see.

Gordon heard one last thing before he faded into black. "Thank you... thank you so much..."

 **Ehhh, ehhhhhh? You like? I really liked this one. Got it all in one day too over a course of 3 and a half hour. Now by this point you might be wondering what I have to say on all of this, and to be honest, there's nothing that I personally have to say besides a single question.**

 **Should I make this more than a one-shot? I don't know, up to you readers to give me some sort of answer please.**

 **Anything else like what you liked or hated about it, just go ahead and ask away since it seems pointless to write things that you ppl don't really care about.**

 **Have a very nice day and see you next time, or not.**


	2. A Time of Peace

**Hello once again, Professor Pancakes here. Just within a day, I have already seen plenty of enjoyment from the crossover between RWBY and Half-Life, and I must say it puts me in a very ecstatic feeling. Because of this, I decided to continue on writing it. There's not much to add besides replying to the few that did comment.**

 _Kamzil118:_ **The backwards writing was on a complete whim. I didn't wish to take the time to figure out some massive language barrier of the sort, and since I'm continuing it, it'll make it easier for Gordon to adapt to it. Thank you though.**

 _Shashenka:_ **Thank you very much for reading. In terms of monsters, or in this case aliens; the only ones I could really see myself putting in there are the infamous Head crabs, and the Vortigaunt. The Combine are a very small maybe in this case.**

 _SilentXD7:_ **Thank you very much for reading as well. I wanted to write this for the very reason that there are not a lot of stories that involve 'normal' humans placed in a situation where they are heavily outmatched in every way. In this case, Gordon has experienced these odds since Black Mesa, so in my opinion there is no better scientist for this situation.**

 _Freeman:_ **The one Freeman, Well if you say so...**

 _Jospeh. :_ _ **Many**_ **thanks, and you're not alone.**

 **Enjoy reading**

 **I don't own anything**

For what Gordon could feel like one of the best times of his life, the feeling of sleeping on a bed, or rather, sleeping in general felt like a godsend for him. The constant running, jumping, getting shot at, fighting aliens makes a man tired. Especially when said man is not anywhere near what should be for those who experience such things. He was a scientist, not a soldier, and it's one thing he still wouldn't let stop him from doing what's right.

He moved around slightly and noticed there was a missing feeling...

Ahhh, yes, there wasn't a suit on him. He pondered a few more seconds before accepting the probability that he took it off since he was actually able to go to bed without having his life threatened. There was one thing that was on his mind though.

He was having this crazy feeling, or rather a remembrance of a dream. He saw dragons flying through the air, survived a crashing building, saw two completely out of place woman fight each other with some sort of magic. He saved a Spartan, fought the one fire witch, almost died... again. Then he overloaded the Xen crystal inside the gravity gun causing a resonance cascade of sort like the one at Black Mesa, except this time quantifying the amount of negative mass through the use of both the foreign oxygen compounds that the world he was supposedly on along with the immense amount of heat from the woman he tackled, and lastly from the weird substance that the dragon was leaking as it engulfed the two. So, in simpler terms, now space, 'and' time should have collapsed in on all three along with the tower, completely removing everything in about a one-hundred-foot radius, from existence itself... Somehow, he did the impossible and he was damn proud of it. He laid there for a few more seconds before shooting himself up into a sitting position, and that's when it hit him.

It most certainly did hit him, around the mid-section that is. A tray collided with his chest and was flung across the room, along with all the contents that were sitting atop it as well. Then the pain flooded his body, the burning sensation was more like he was cast into the molten lava of Eyjafjallajökull. Not even a second later, as if to compensate the pain he was feeling, a yell of anguish escaped from his now open mouth.

"AHHHHHHHHHHHH!" His arms were hung out in front of them like one would have with a case, along those arms were what looked to be bandages that went up all the way up to his torso, which in turn also had bandages wrapped around it. The yelling didn't stop, and his eyes traveled to a figure that was now staring at him with terrified eyes, and was also screaming.

"AHHHHHHHHHHHH!" The young girl fell onto the ground, which he realized was the exact girl he met in his dreams, the one with silver eyes that is, not the polarized Spartan of death. Wait, she was the one that carried a scythe, so then she must be death, which was strange since she didn't have her scythe on her. Then even more thoughts flooded Gordons head. There was no damn dream, he literally fought a fire-throwing witch, saved a Spartan's life, and was collapsed in on himself; what made is worse, was that the pain was still there. What happened next didn't help in the situation of his pain, or even the situation itself.

Two grown men burst into the room, rather the blond headed one burst into the room with what he depicted to be a look of terror while the one behind him looked to be drinking out of some container... Gordon then noticed that he was not wearing his glasses so seeing the young girl in the first place was nothing short of some sort of luck. The blonde headed man seemed to join in what he would consider just yelling by this point since the pain that he did experience from the sudden movement quickly diminished by the events that were going on around him.

The black-haired man pushed past the blond and seemed to shout much louder than anyone in the room. "pu tuhs uoy fo lla naC!" He guessed he was telling them to be quiet since everyone, including himself quieted down. He took another drink out of what Gordon assumed to be a flask of sorts, and then figured that the only contents that could even be there would be alcohol. Even though he wasn't really a drinker, he felt as if he could go for one right now... Maybe just a drinking buddy would be nice, like Barney; that man would be the exact cause of returning late to his room every week at Black Mesa because of his friend's habit of drinking over the smallest things.

The black-haired man seemed to take notice in Gordon's change of attitude since he held the flask out to him, in turn receiving what looked to be harsh words from the blonde. "knird a mih gnireffo ruoy dna derujni si nam ehT ?Qrow yllaeR?"

He caught what seemed to be a name out of it, and figured that the black-haired man's name was in fact, Qrow. Gordon didn't care to question who would name their child such a strange thing, and instead reached out to the flask and gladly accepted the man's kindness of sharing a drink.

Gordon brought the flask up to his lips and let the... strange liquid which he first thought it was alcohol, but last time he checked, well at least the ones he's had before, alcohol is supposed to burn the throat and leave some sort of bad after taste, but this, this was different for Gordon. It went down smoothly and there was practically no burn at all, but the little bit that was there he just accepted the fact that it was mostly the fire-witch's fault and somehow burned the back of the throat. At the same time, the drink most certainly did give the feeling of relief that the alcohol back at Black Mesa did when it came to soothing work pains, or in this case, almost-death pains. He lowered it from his lips and closed the lid back on, and what he tried to map out with his terrible vision was an extreme look of confusion from those around him. The blond man was giving off a look of someone just dying while Qrow was more surprised that I accepted his offer, and the young girl, well, from what Gordon could describe, she had seen a ghost; something a bit more petrifying than the older man.

Qrow gave off what he guessed to be a smile before taking back the flask and shaking it slightly before giving what looked to be an impressed look. The blonde man shook the shock away from his face before turning back to Qrow and speaking once more. "snediaM eht fo rewop eht htiw desselb si eh raews I neht eid t'nseod eh fI !nosiop ruoy fo flah knard tsuj eH."

Qrow only shrugged as he placed his flask into... what looked to be its own individual holster. Huh, he guessed that the man drank enough to have his own personal holster for a flask. Gordon turned to face the girl who was now staring at him with what looked to be like some sort of sparkle in her eyes; the ghostly look completely gone and replaced with child innocence. With his hands now by his side, she took his left hand and wrapped both of hers around it while she looked at him and spoke. "naht ereht t'nerew uoy fI ...enod ev'uoy tahw rof hcum os Thank you..."

It hit Gordon then, not painfully this time, but rather a spark of understanding. He finally understood why he could understand these people that were talking right in front of him from time to time. They were talking backwards, completely backwards too, not just single words that form into a sentence, but rather the entire sentence itself. He silently cheered himself on as he smiled towards the girl. He was going to speak to her in their language, well his language just flipped, and then he can finally get a grasp on what the hell is going on. Thankfully, well no so much thankful to the teacher herself, but rather thankful that he remembered that ridicules assignment he had to complete back at MIT with a teacher who thought that 'learning to speak backwards' was a resourceful way to spend one's time at a school of science.

"nameerF nodroG si eman ym ,ereht olleH." His words immediately got a response from the girl in front of him, and that of the two adults, but not one of completion but rather confusion. Did he somehow say that simple phrase incorrectly, or was he completely wrong about their language to begin with and that English isn't a thing here? The girl turned to Qrow and spoke.

"worQ elcnU gniyas eh si tahW?"

Gordon glanced towards Qrow who in turn looked at him with a look of curiosity. He spoke up back to the young girl. "taht od eh dluow lleh eht ni yhw on ,sdrawkcab ekops tsuj eH?"

He sighed as he laid back down on the pillows. He figured if he they aren't speaking backwards then what could they be speaking. He wasn't regretting the fact that he didn't major in English, but rather that he didn't care to partake in the broader assignments that covered the English language better, no, instead he sat around Doctor Kleiner and listened to his lectures on Quantum Physics and the uses for it in means of submolecular movement through larger masses which Gordon used to write his own paper off of.

A new weight appeared out of nowhere on him as he glanced down and saw that both a notepad and pencil were sitting at his waist. He glanced up and saw Qrow gesturing to it while speaking. "ereht morf tuo ti erugif nac ew ,etirw tsael ta nac uoy erus ytterp m'I."

Gordon figured that if the language was indeed English, then maybe writing it could get it across to them better. He took the two in hand and wrote, what he could manage with the still underlying pain, a simple message.

 _Hello there, my name is Gordon Freeman._

He set the pencil back onto the notepad and handed it to Qrow who took it and held it up to read it. He let out a chuckle and slapped on hand on the notepad before speaking to, what Gordon guessed, was everyone in the room. "yltnereffid su gniraeh tsuj s'eh gnisseug m'I ,sruo sa emas eht s'tI" This earned looks of surprise from the two other individuals and a glance back towards Gordon. Qrow took ahold of the pencil and wrote something down on the paper before handing it back to him. He took ahold of it and was thoroughly surprised at what he saw.

 _Try speaking normally this time please._

They wrote the exact same, meaning he could really be the only one that is hearing what they say to be backwards, and what he just spoke was actually backwards to them. He coughed in his freehand to clear his throat and spoke. "I believe there we've come to an understanding then?"

Qrow smiled as he nodded his head, and the other two ran towards one another and gave each other a high-five while talking to one another. "neht su dnatsrednu 'nac' eH!" They all were giving a happy look until the young girl turned to Qrow and gave him a confusing look before speaking. "worQ elcnU su dnatsrednu eh t'nac yhW?" Qrow sighed as he wrote on the notepad once more and handed it to Gordon and speaking to the young girl. "sdrawkcab erew ekops eh sdrow tsrif eht yhw ecneh ,sdrawkcab si sraeh eh gnihtyreve taht si sseug tseb yM."

Gordon stared at the three until Qrow gestured to the notepad. He glanced down and read.

 _What are you hearing us speak, since you are able to speak, read, and write our language?_

He smiled back at them and wrote on the paper once more.

 _Everything you are saying, I'm hearing it backwards._

He then handed Qrow back the notepad who took it, but then gave the gesture to his mouth, giving the question of why he didn't just speak. Gordon himself didn't know why he didn't speak; maybe it was because everywhere he went, there wasn't much of a reason to speak, and thus because of it gained the habit of just sharing everything through the use of eye contact and body movement. He could only shrug the best he could to respond to the man's question, in which he received a nod of understanding.

The three looked to be talking much quieter than anyone normally would, then they suddenly turned out to him, the young girl taking point with a big smile on her face. She began to speak. "ybuR ybuR ybuR ybuR ybuR Ruby Ruby Ruby Ruby." While she was pointing at herself. Gordon then realized that she was saying her name was Ruby, and that the fact was that he could now understand that she was 'saying' Ruby. He replied.

"Ruby"

The two showed looks of excitement once more as they high-fived in accomplishment. Gordon finally understood what it felt like to see earlier settlers begin to understand the locals. He felt lost but at the same time was happy since it was much calmer than anything he normally experiences. He then started to formulate an idea through his head. If he was able to understand what she was saying after repeating it so often, then if he was around as they spoke just common day sentences or anything of the sort then he should be able to 'fix' this problem of his. Gordon couldn't accept this as some sort of language barrier, but rather a side effect of the sudden changes in worlds through some sort of temporal rift or it could easily be some sort of controlled resonance cascade since he'd seen the man travel across the entirety of Black Mesa and City Seventeen without any troubles. He spoke up once more.

"I don't mean to intrude, but I have an idea. Could I see the notepad please?"

The three turned to him once again, Qrow nodding his head as he handed Gordon the notepad and pencil. He spoke up again.

"This'll take some time, so if you could give me it, it would be gratefully appreciated."

The two more active ones mouthed out a simple 'ohh' while Qrow nodded his head and walked out the room. The young girl, Ruby, waved to him before exiting the room and closing the door behind her. He looked forward and noticed the mess on the wall of whatever food it might have been that Ruby brought for him, and that it was still there after the entire commotion that happened in here. He shook it off and began writing down what would need to happen if he were to fully bypass his problem, and it would be too much of a hassle for him to speak and not understand what was being spoke, so writing it down is always much easier.

He wrote a few things down on the notepad to start.

 _Just talk normally when I'm around..._

Gordon just stared at the notepad. There was nothing else to write, no convoluted process, no extreme testing to be made, just, talking normally. Was he confused by what he wrote down; absolutely not, rather he was amazed on how simple it could be without some sort of scientific process. He was so used to things being so complicated that others would be there to at least assist, or so simple that all he had to do was shoot at it. It wasn't the case this time, rather it was indeed simple, just not in the fields of... what he did was not manslaughter; anything he ever did was all to defend himself or those who couldn't, and in his eyes, there was no wrong in those actions.

He shook the thought out of his head and began to make an attempt to stand up before he stopped himself. I yelled in pain when I leaned forward in bed, is getting out of it really the best idea? Gordon sat there for a few more seconds, he moved his toes and bent his knees ever so slightly. He determined that he was indeed able to at least move and he inched his way towards the edge of the bed. He lifted the covers and saw that he was practically naked except for the tight boxers that surrounded his lower regions; he pondered on the thought of who undressed him but quickly shook it off. Bandages were not just on his upper half, but rather his entire body. He was a mummy except for the upper part of his neck and face.

He glanced around to look for his glances and noticed that they were sitting on the nightstand right next the bed. He smiled as he grabbed them and setting them right onto his nose. A single thought went through his mind at this moment. 'Perfect'. The glasses that had been through hell and back with him were the cleanest they'd ever been and had no damage to them either. He can't say they ever took damage, even the times when he crashed into the wall after being thrown around by a certain metal individual.

Gordon let his legs fall to the floor as he sat on the edge of the bed, he expected the wood floor to be freezing, but instead was met with a nice carpet feeling in-between his toes. Many things he had long since felt since Black Mesa. He readied himself by slowly rocking back and forth on the bed before launching onto his feet, and stumbling right into the wall. A sharp pain jetted throughout his body, but he didn't fall. He lifted himself off the wall and used his left hand to balance off of it as he glanced to the door right in front of him, still closed thankfully. While he wouldn't mind some sort of help to get out of the room, the thought of someone walking in while he was struggling was not the best thought to go through his head.

Gordon took a step forward and was rewarded with another sharp pain flowing throughout his body. He grits his teeth as he continued to step forward, each step gifting him with the same feeling as before. He could practically feel his blood seeping from his wounds, yet there was nothing on him when he glanced downwards. Each step bringing him closer to the door, and yet there seemed to be another door he was walking towards as well. He decided to ignore the brighter one for now and continue to the nicely polished russet colored door. His hand finally reached the doorknob and wrapped around it, the cold metal sending a rather pleasant tingle throughout his arm. Turning it, the door opened up to a hallway with a welcoming rug right on the floor. His eyes becoming somewhat blurry, after he blinked it away, he decided to continue forward.

He could hear people talking in the room in front of him, but there were other voices there that he didn't recognize, and to no surprise, he still couldn't understand them, but he leaned up closer to the wall as if in an attempt to listen in.

"gnivas rof mih gniknaht eb ot eno eht eb ot deen uoy ,enuaJ no oG !won ekawa s'eH Pyrrha."

Gordon stepped back for a moment, he couldn't tell if it was his conscious slipping or if what he's hearing is more distorted than he imagined. He could easily tell that the last word was easily a name, but what it was in front of was most certainly not should have been there. This problem needed to be fixed and fast before his own English becomes more distorted than those floating islands in the world of Xen.

He took the step forward once more, stepping out into the opening and in front of what he could tell was a very large group of children; or rather just the four and the... three adults there now? He could tell which one was Qrow and the blond-headed man, but there was a woman now. She looked like someone out of one of Barney's magazines, except much less revealing clothes and a much sterner looking appearance. She was the only one to stand up when he revealed himself, and from what he could tell, she sounded rather angry, but at the same time worried. "pu gniod eh si tahW!"

Qrow merely shrugged. Gordon could get a feel for him, reminded him somewhat of Barney and Eli mixed together. "keew rehtona tsael ta rof klaw ot elba eb ot gniog t'nsaw eh dias uoY!"

The children, one of which he could tell was Ruby, all turned around to face him, and all of which gave faces of shock and or surprise except for Ruby.

Everyone one was silent as they stared at him, that is until Qrow spoke up. "niaga klaw mih edam 'nosiop' yM .taht ta kool ay dluoW." He said while shaking his flask towards the other two adults; which in turn shot him a glare before turning back to Gordon.

The woman began to walk towards him, which he took a step back from. Intimidating woman have been giving him problems lately and he really didn't wish to end up bed ridden all over again. She stopped and spun around to look back at the two men. "em tuoba mih llet uoy did tahW?" In turn the two began to laugh and the children that were sitting down also gave a small chuckle, all of which were quickly cut short by what Gordon could guess was her glare.

She turned back around to Gordon and finished walking up to him. "nameerF .rM uoy teem ot erusaelp A." She held out her hand for what he could tell was a handshake. He returned the gesture and shook her hand, the pain he was expecting didn't appear. She carried on, "noitca taht sdrawot evah I edutitarg fo tnuoma eht sserpxe t'nac I ,stneduts ym fo eno gnivas rof uoy knaht ot ekil dluow I." Before he could reply, he saw the blonde-headed boy stand up and speak as well, "ris llew sa uoy knaht ot ekil d'I" sitting down right after he spoke. The woman contiuned to stare at him and he caught the faces of the two men in the back holding back a smile for some odd reason.

Gordon spoke up. "I don't believe if these men told you or not, but I can't understand your language, I can only speak, read, and write it. I apologize for any difficulties this might cause."

The woman in front of him gave him a look of complete surprise and confusion. She quickly turned around and began walking towards the two men. "hceeps ruo dneherpmoc ton dluoc eh taht em gnillet no gninnalp uoy fo owt eht erew nehw ,worQ ,gnayiaT." With that, the two men erupted into laughter once again.

Gordon smiled as he saw what was happening in front of him. It reminded him of the times his fellow scientists would get into pointless discussions in the breakroom and it almost blow up into something incredible where they would end up discovering some sort of breakthrough on the issues they were having on their projects while they were competing that they were on equal terms with. It was mostly the R&D department that ended up doing so, but nonetheless, it was relieving. He set the notebook down on a hallstand right next to him and decided it would be better to discuss this at a later time. He turned around and stopped since a certain silver-eyed individual was now standing in front of him with the very notebook, this time on a different page and writing on it as well.

She looked up at him and turned the notebook his way. He read it.

 _Would you like to see Pyrrha?_

Gordon began to open his mouth to ask who exactly that was, but he decided it would best be saved for later when it would be of vital importance. He just simply nodded and Ruby gave a happy smile before grabbing ahold of his hand and dragging him through the hallway. He walked behind her, throwing out occasional glances here and there. Throughout the multiple open doors, he noticed a blonde girl sitting in a room while glancing out the window. The thing that he immediately noticed was not how brightly her hair shined, no, it was the limp that was not present. He quickly looked away, understand completely on what she might be going through, not that he had gone though it himself, but rather the amount of losses he'd seen and heard from others. There's a time to talk, and another to just let one ponder on one's thoughts. He shook the picture out of his head and noticed they were reaching the end of the hallway.

Ruby walked on a bit faster to the door and motioned Gordon over. He continued he struggle to the door and smile to the girl, motioning to open the door. She stared at him for a second before nodding and opening the door for him. Ruby motioned for him to walk inside. He complied and walked into the room. He looked back at Ruby who simply waved towards as she was closing the door. He opened his mouth to ask who exactly Pyrrha was, but was unable to. He also didn't want to do this since he was almost naked in terms of clothing, but nobody seemed to care, so he took it upon himself to not care either.

He turned back around and was met with a pair of vivid-green eyes. Gordon pondered for a second on how accurate he was with all these colors he's been seeing, but decided to push it to the side as he was more confused on what to say to a bed-ridden girl he'd just saved last night. Not exactly something one can prepare one for, especially after waking up. He shook off any thoughts and focused back on the task on hand, talking to said girl he saved.

"Thank you."

He looked at her, noticing that he understood her perfectly. She was smiling at him; something he'd seen on plenty of people throughout Black Mesa, and City Seventeen, and just like those times, it felt truly sincere. He smiled back at her, adjusting his glasses, "I just did what I do best... Pyrrha..."

She tilted her head at him and mouthed something to herself. "I... I togof to introduce myself. eman ym is Pyrrha Nikos."

Gordon had to rub his eyes for a second, to make sure he was seeing correctly then realized that they had nothing to do with what he just heard. Without a doubt he could make out what she was saying, but the biggest part was that he could make out most of her sentence. He shook his head again before speaking up. "My name is Freeman, Gordon Freeman. A pleasure to meet you." He decided to keep out anything irrelevant such as his doctorate, even though it made his feel rather empty every time he said it since he went through so much trouble of obtaining it. She smiled towards him and gestured to a chair next to her. "deneppah tahw tuoba klat ew dluoc ,dnim t'nod uoy fI five months ago. I've been waiting to speak with you."

Gordon made his way over to the chair and took a seat, the pain still there. He looked towards her and almost immediately fell out of the chair. five months have passed since that night? He quickly glanced back at her, a smile still on her face. He began to ask a question but was stopped by her own.

"It's only been about two weeks since you showed up outside of Ruby's and Yang's house in Patch covered in wounds. I'm not sure what you've been through, but if you would be so kind to explain what you were doing there that night and from then on, I would be most thankful for it."

Gordon's eyes were wider than they might have been before. Five whole months and he only arrive here two weeks ago. He was on the tram for maybe... at most five minutes, most of it him lying in pain on the tram. He was clueless on how to respond until a certain click happened in his head, and as if he had a complete answer for it, he nodded while looking at her. He caught himself before speaking. He somehow understood everything she just said. His solution just might truly be the answer to his problem; talking normally. He nodded towards her and began to speak.

"I went somewhere you would never wish to even think over, and it all started right there." Gordon lifted his arm and pointed towards a map on the other side of the room, and at a land mass that shared the shape of a dragon.

 **I'd like to thank you all for reading, very very much. Throughout the single day of writing this, I received at least 15 notifications on my phone about people reviewing it, favoriting, or following this story and I was laughing the entire time. My diet for this entire time consisted of small bags of chips and ice-cream, and I wish I didn't since I feel like dying now. From a medical standpoint, won't ever do that again. Anything that you wonderful readers would like to suggest, or simply say, go ahead and let it out.**

 **Thank you, come again.**


	3. Silence is a Man's Best Friend

**Hello once again and thank you for visiting. Not much to say besides I'm loving the support I'm getting one this story. Let's get on with it shall we?**

 _Omega-Neos:_ **Hehe...Yeah... Let's go with that. Thank you for reading... friend?**

 _Lmao:_ **I don't think Gordon would be the kind of person to willfully hop backwards at speeds comparable to that of a space-ship. Thank you for reading though.**

 _Guest:_ **I did not think of putting the normal versions of the text within the story but since you pointed it out I could easily put it aside the reversed text. Thank you for both pointing it out and reading.**

 _Freeman:_ **I have most certainly watched that wonderful masterpiece called** _Freeman's Mind_ **and that's what pushed me to playing Half-life as well. Sheperd is a very possible maybe; If I can get a hold on where he would appear, then is would almost be a definite yes.**

 _Guy:_ **Thank you very much, and I didn't even realize that I was the first to create a crossover between these two.**

 **I don't own anything, and that's a wrap**

Gordon lowered his hand from the map that hung on the wall, a smile on his face as he did so. He turned back to Pyrrha who he guessed was perfectly fine with what he just pointed out, but rather he was met with a face of pure terror as she stared at him. This made him think, was his lie to good, or maybe it wasn't good enough. Perhaps the area he pointed at was somewhere that was practically the worst place to be at on this planet; he decided to go with that since the shape resembled that of a dragon, and since the only one he had seen so far had partially eaten him, he figured they weren't exactly the best things around here. Before he could say anything, she spoke up.

"Just who are you?"

He stared at her with a blank look. Her face still one of terror, but with a tad bit of confusion and curiosity mixed into there as well. He didn't know how to respond to that question as the only response he could think of was that he was just a scientist at the wrong place at the wrong time. The times he had said that were not exactly received that well and earned him sayings such as, ' _Oh stop kidding, no scientist could do what you did.'_ While he didn't mind the compliment from time to time, he was also hurt in the part that people thought a scientist couldn't do what he did. Honestly, anyone could do what he did as long as they strived forward with a goal...he thinks. He mentally brought down his hand as a fist into a metaphorical open hand as he came up with an idea.

"I'm just a man who does his job very well."

Silence floated around the room after he said that. Any sort of face Pyrrha had was replaced with one of pure confusion now. Gordon could somewhat understand now; looking back he probably could have come up with some sort of cooler line like _'Freeman, Gordon Freeman.'_ Or, _'_ _That's classified. If I tell you I'll have to kill you',_ and, _'You can't handle the truth.'_ Yet he went with that. A shame he'll never get a shot at that again. He sighed, and before he could speak, Pyrrha spoke up again.

"Oook. Enough about that, are you sure that you were there?"

Gordon nodded his head once more. "Absolutely, and I take it you believe it to be inhabited correct?"

She nodded her head in response, and in turn got another smile from him. "That place is called Xen, and is possibly the strangest place you could ever put your eyes on, let alone visit it yourself."

"Is it really covered in Grimm everywhere you go?"

There was that word again. 'Grim', was an adjective used when something was generally forbidding or uninviting. The way she was using it seemed to make it appear as some sort of creature, and while it wouldn't surprise him that a so called 'Grim' existed, it seemed less likely than the dragon he's already encountered.

"Rather than the 'Grim' you speak of; These were much different from what you might normally encounter though, do understand. These 'Grim' would appear around you, mostly at corners when you might be expecting it the least, and understand this, they would release massive electrical currents that would arc towards you and give you what seemed like a heart attack each time they would connect with you."

Her eyes bulged from his words. Apparently shooting electricity and being able to be a living magnet were on two separate sides of the playing fields. Gordon continued.

"Small creatures about the size of your head would make attempts to latch onto your head throughout traveling Xen, and from there it looked as if to act as a parasite, infecting the body and turning them into..."

"Human Grimm..." Her words sounding much more worried than surprised or interested. While the term 'Human Grim' was most certainly a more terrifying term than just 'zombified humans' but that works as well.

"Not the term I would use, but I suppose it could work. Now there were plenty more, but the biggest thing that was the most trouble would be the lack of elevators, or rather the number of broken ones..." Gordon then realized that he misspoke completely and instead directly referenced Black Mesa itself instead of the replaced conditions of Xen fixed to a random island on this planet that from what he knew had absolutely nothing to do with the alien space world. While he was completely honest in the aspect of there being a distinct problem with the elevators at Black Mesa, the thought of there being elevators in a hostile land riddled with creatures that attempt to kill you at first glance would put more questions into the air instead of answering them.

"Elevators?" Pure confusion laced Pyrrha's words that time, and they clearly stuck to Gordon as he was put onto the spot with them as well. He began to ponder on how he would dig his way out of this hole but instead was in much deeper than he imagined as more problems came up as he thought up more ideas. He blamed himself for not stopping midsentence, but there was nothing he could do now. Before he could open his mouth to attempt to explain his 'misuse' of elevators, a familiar figure entered through the door.

"gnihtemos gnitpurretni I mA?" (Am I interrupting something?)

Standing in the doorway was Qrow, and what he said Gordon was still out of tune and came up with another theory to the strange situation he sat in with understanding the language. He turned away from the thought and instead focused on the man standing in the doorway with what looked to be... a lab-coat, blue shirt, and white pants in his arms. Gordon immediately recognized the clothing as the same ones he wore back at Black Mesa along with the rest of the scientists. Pyrrha spoke up.

"Not at all, I was just asking Mr. Freeman what he's been through since that day."

Qrow nodded his head in response. "I was kind of curious about that as well, but before that," He handed Gordon the clothes he was holding onto. "egakcap a htiw gnola uoy ot emac esehT. Some strange man in a suit stopped by and only let us know this was for you. enog saw eh dnuora kcab denrut I nehw tub saw eh ohw gniksa deirt I; you have anything to say about that?"(These came for you along with a package-I tried asking who he was but when I turned back around he was gone.)

Gordon stared at the clothing for a few seconds before snapping back his attention to Qrow. He began to open his mouth but stopped when he realized a crucial element to this. He had no idea who that man was. The only times he ever saw him was when he was traveling throughout Black Mesa and City 17, and whenever what seemed like to be a crucial moment in whatever he was part in. All he knew about him was that he was the one who offered him a job doing... apparently what he does, whatever that might be. Before he could answer Qrow answered another question.

"The address was also addressed to a 'Doctor Gordon Freeman'" He added a ' _Hmph_ ' to the end, "a ot derapmoc epyt rotcod eht sa uoy ekat yllaer t'ndid I... 'friend of mine', what did you study for your PhD?" Gordon was rather surprised from his question. So, there were fields of study like the ones on earth and that they shared the same distinction, or classification of that as well. (I didn't really take you as the doctor type compared to a)

Gordon stopped himself before he answered and asked himself what he thought was an extremely vital question in all of this; was there some sort of universal space law that stopped him from speaking about his own world at all? He'd seen rules like that before in shows he used to watch on his time off and such, but never once did he think that he'd be put into such a situation that would require him to learn or decided on it. He shook away the thought and decided that if there was such a law, there would have clearly been a sign by this point anyways.

"I studied at MIT and earned my PhD in Theoretical Physics. My graduating thesis was _Observation of Einstein-Podolsky-Rosen Entanglement on Supraquantum Structures by Induction Through Nonlinear Transuranic Crystal of Extremely Long Wavelength Pulse from Mode-Locked Source Array."_ Gordon smiled at his memory of his own thesis that he wrote what felt like only years ago, and that he remembered every bit of it as well. He glanced back towards Qrow and saw that his face had distorted into one of pure confusion, and when he glanced back towards Pyrrha, she too shared the face of the man, next to him. Apparently there needed at least some sort of explanation. "Essentially about the teleportation of matter through the use of extremely dense elements."

Pyrrha then spoke up. "You wrote a paper on how to use dust to teleport?"

Gordon sighed. He knew that not just anyone would be able to understand what he was speaking about, or possibly have an idea of what it even meant. "Not dust, the process wouldn't be able to completed with such particles since any of them do not lie above the atomic element number of ninety-two since most, if not all elements above that are made within a laboratory and not found in nature, thus being unable to be commonly found within dust along with the fact that dust itself is not a dense element since it's a collection of multiple particles." He heaved out a final heavy breath after he finished. Not only does he not speak anywhere near the amount he just did, thanks to those who normally stood around him, but also it wasn't normal to strike up a conversation about it; like on a date of sorts, for example, _'Hey, do you want to know on how the ability to teleport a living being through the use of a crystal element that decays naturally overtime but instead of losing the matter through radioactive decay, we can use it to rip what might be a literally hole in space and walk through it to the other side without any side-effects?'_

While it would catch one's interests for someone like himself, the thought of anyone that isn't in the field of physics would simply turn them away.

Qrow gave Gordon a rather simple answer in the end. "Riiiiiight; and what school did you go through to learn all this again?"

"Massachusetts Institute of Technology" He replied, short and simple.

The two-stayed quiet until Qrow gave what seemed to be an ice-breaking cough.

"What about that suit of yours? Its unlike anything I've ever seen, I take its some sort of new Atlas armor or something of the sort?"

Pyrrha added her own words as well. "It does look like something out of this world that is. It seems like it would impede movement more than anything and from the looks of it, it didn't seem to prevent stab wounds?"

While Gordon wasn't getting irritated with answering questions about his own equipment and his own personal life, he was most certainly getting tired of it in a physical way. He was beginning to feel the effects of moving too much while being injured and without the use of morphine, there was no buffer to the pain he was feeling. As if Qrow was catching onto the physical clues he was giving out, he stopped Gordon before he could answer their questions.

"Pyrrha, how about we continue this at a better time when the 'doctor' is in a better shape, shall we?" Gordon could tell that he still doubted him having his PhD, but let it slide.

Pyrrha's eyes widened upon realization that she the way she was asking him questions, she almost forgot that he just woke up covered in his injuries. "Y... you're right, I'm terribly sorry Mr. Freeman, curiosity must have gotten the better of me." She bowed her head. Gordon waved her off, there was no need to apologize, curiosity was simply a human reaction to things.

Gordon used the back of the chair to raise himself from sitting down; sitting for such a long time let his muscles rest and he thought it would have been better if he kept moving to stop this relaxed feeling from kicking in. He slightly stumbled when he finally got off the chair, Qrow stopping his fall.

"I guess you're still not there yet?" He added a small chuckle to the end of it. Gordon only shook his head while he sighed. While this man wasn't Barney, he could still feel the sarcasm and joking attitude radiating from him. Qrow lifted his arm around his shoulder and hefted Gordon back to where he could stand. Before they left the room, Qrow turned around and said something to Pyrrha.

"ko tser erom emos teG?" (Get some more rest ok?)

Gordons head suddenly came with what seemed to be a splitting headache, his vision becoming much more obscured than when he normally loses his glasses. He brought up his free hand and rubbed his eyes, the blurriness stopping him from moving forward. When everything started to dissipate, he was already walking out of the room and through the hallway. He quickly wondered if Qrow saw him struggling but put the thought away and continued walking in silence next to the man until he spoke.

"Man, of few words, aren't you?"

Gordon lifted his head to meet the eyes of Qrow and he knew it was purely nothing but an ice-breaker, but it took him back to her... Another cough came from Qrow as he turned his head away and continued walking.

"Right, let's just say that moment never happened. Staring into other men's eyes wouldn't exactly be on my 'things I like to do' list." He laughed

Gordon could only sigh as the two continued to walk down the hall. They finally reached the open room where he originally saw the large mass of people standing, but now there was only the two adults. He looked at the two, back to Qrow, then back to the two once more, lifting his finger between the three. He figured this was the point where questions started to be asked, no distractions this time. While Gorodn wasn't the biggest fan of repeatedly answering questions, he guessed there was a point where he'd have to answer them anyway. Qrow continued to carry him out into the room where he proceeded to set him down in a much more comfortable chair than the last one he sat in. The woman abruptly spoke to Qrow in what sounded like an annoyed tone to Gordon.

"worQ su gnidnatsrednu fo elbapac eh sI?" (Is he capable of understanding us Qrow?)

Qrow shrugged as he looked down at Gordon with a questioning glance. He shook his head as he glanced back to the woman, her once annoyed face now turning into one of a troubled look. Gordon suddenly realized there might be a major problem with this current problem he's having. Not entirely sure, but there might be a chance that every single individual that he speaks to might have to go through the same process that those around him are currently going through. He bent over as he rested his head in his hands, sighing in the process and not looking forward to the future difficulties of having to even understand those he meets compared to talking to them. Before he could respond the other man spoke up.

"I'm pretty sure he just doesn't want to listen to you Glynda" He added a hearty laugh to the end.

Gordon shot up from his slump and glanced straight at the man who in turn looked to rear from the sudden energy he just showed. "I just understood what you said."

The blonde man leaned back into his original stance, and then broke out into another hearty laugh, taking a seat this time to add along with it. "Not only can he not understand you, but he can me." He continued to laugh as she glanced from the man to Gordon. Glynda was about to speak before Gordon spoke up.

"Until I begin understand you, we can use one of these gentlemen to translate for me."

The three of them looked towards Gordon and then back to each other. Qrow spoke up. "That sounds like a plan. I guess it takes a man of science to solve the simply things huh." He began to laugh as the other two looked between one another before glancing back towards Qrow. "He's a scientist?" He broke out into an even louder laugh as he took a seat next to Gordon. A genuine smile on his face while he continued to laugh. The two glanced over to Gordon for confirmation, and he only nodded to confirm what the currently laughing man had said only seconds before. Their eyes widened in surprise as what he could guess was that they couldn't believe the man sitting in front of them was a scientist, and it was probably the last thing they guessed.

Glynda sighed as she took a few steps towards the window. "Don't take it as us not believing you, but rather you... aren't like the other doctors we know."

The blonde man spoke up. "What she's saying is that unlike the others, you're quiet."

Gordon looked between both Glynda and Qrow who both sighed upon that comment. He didn't take it necessarily offensive and could understand what they were saying. When compared to many of his other colleagues, he could easily say that he was the quiet one. Never one to boast, nor did he ever really complain to those around him. If not for Dr. Kleiner and Eli, he probably would have ever taken the chance to get to know the others around Black Mesa, not that it mattered anymore... Gordon quickly shook away the thought as he decided that now wasn't the best time to reminisce on bad times.

His attention was brought back by Glynda speaking. "emit emos su evig uoy dluoc ,gnayiaT?" (Taiyang, could you give us some time?)

The blonde man looked over to Glynda before sighing and walking towards the door. "Yeah, yeah, I got it." He turned around and pointed a finger towards Gordon. "Listen specs, don't trash my house and we'll be fine." He opened the door and walked out, followed by him slowly closing it. Gordon sat in the chair rather surprised. While nicknames weren't abnormal to him, 'specs' was one he hadn't heard since high school since almost everywhere he worked everyone had a pair of spectacles. He shifted his attention back to the two that still sat in the room with him, and to his surprise their attention was on him.

Qrow was the first one to speak up. "Follow us Gordon, we have to talk." He stood up and was followed by Glynda, the two walking into a what looked to be a completely separate part of the house. He stayed sitting with his clothes in his arms until he was motioned by Qrow to follow. He quickly stood up and slipped on the clothing he was giving. Though there was slight trouble because of his injuries, the blue dress shirt was buttoned up, khaki dress pants along with the belt slipped on, and the white lab coat covered him. _(Scientist Uniform from Half-Life remake, very well done bty.)_ A nostalgic feeling enveloped Gordon as he took one step forward. He hadn't worn regular clothing since that fateful day, and because of it, he felt as if he was dressing up for some sort of big conference or even where one would have to wear only their best. Apparently, a lab coat was now his best since the suit was considered part of his everyday clothes.

He walked through the door and was greeted with what looked to be a very similar room like the one he woke up in except a lack of windows. It didn't bother him one bit, windows or no windows; wouldn't stop him. He noticed a table and at it were both Qrow and Glynda sitting across from one another. If he didn't know any better, he felt as if the two didn't like one another. Qrow glanced over at him and motioned towards a chair that sat in between the two. He made his way over to the chair and took a seat, a strange presence overtaking him for some odd reason. He set his hands on the table and waited for what was to come from the two people he was sharing the somewhat secluded room with.

Qrow spoke first with a question. "Who are you Gordon, and none of this 'out of this world' stuff, who are you really?"

Gordon found this rather amusing since he really wasn't from this planet. It confused him as well since the thought of life from other planets must at least have been a thought before asking him this question, but instead he shook it off as nothing.

"My name is Gordon Freeman, I was born in Seattle Washington, and I'm a graduate of MIT with a PhD in Quantum Physics, and I'm twenty-seven." Gordon silently cursed to himself. While time might have passed as long as it did, he still found it hard to accept it that he was forty-seven, and instead kept it as a small lie about his age.

The two looked at one another and back to Gordon. "Ok... Is that it?" Qrow asked.

Gordon simply nodded, earning what looked to be a sigh of disappointment from the two. Why they'd be disappointed about meeting someone from another planet, but then again, the first thing Gordon did when he met an alien was shoot at it.

The words came from Qrow, he seemed to almost completely ignore what he just told them. "Tell me Gordon, have you heard of the story of the four Maidens?"

Gordon looked at Qrow with a quite readable face, clearly indicating that he had no idea what he was talking about. What kind of story would have the title of 'The Four Maidens'?

Qrow sighed. "I figured you didn't" He leaned back in his chair and brought out the flask again. He simply set it on the table instead of opening it and drinking the contents. "I'll cut it short for you, maybe even so short it'll make no sense to you, sound good?"

Gordon continued to stare at the man. If the story is so important at this time, why would you cut it short, unless there is a shortage of time then it would be understandable. While he might have an interest in fairytales; he's already seen a dragon at this point so anything he would be hearing from this point on he'd believe it much easier than before.

Qrow began to speak but was quickly cut off by Glynda. "Right now, Mr. Freeman you currently have an extreme power lying within you, but the problem we have right now is that you don't currently have an Aura within you, along with the fact that no one here has been able to activate yours either."

Gordon stared at her still. He was very confused from the fact that from what he understood is that Aura was some sort of essential thing to living on this planet. What he knew about Aura in general, he always looked at it as some sort of crazy tests from a priest in England, and that it acted as a connection to some higher power. There was plenty of research since the idea itself suggests a form of barrier to protect the owner from many things ranging from purely spectral attacks, and even going as far to act as a forcefield of sorts like that of his suit. All of this seemed extremely crazy to him as his own 'religion' rested upon facts, logic, and evidence, and right now none of this was within those bounds and that meant that they haven't been investigated yet.

Qrow then spoke up. "What she's trying to say is that you don't have what everything with a soul should have." Yup, Gordon was right. There is some sort of spiritual belief tied to this entire thing. He only replied with what he knew best.

"Ok."

The two snapped their eyes onto Gordon, surprise in their eyes shared with a sense of confusion. Apparently, his reaction was not exactly normal. He had to clear this up before anything else went haywire. "What I should say is I might understand why I don't have said 'aura'. I'm simply not from this world and because of it, there must be some sort of thing stopping it from applying to me, like a rule of sorts." Gordon's rule in this case was one of logic and that they just weren't all there in the head.

Glynda spoke up again. "You do understand that this power you have inside of you is unlike anything you've ever seen correct? This isn't something you can just pass off as a joke. We'd prefer to keep this as professional as possible Mr. Freeman"

Gordon was getting somewhat fed up at this point. He had patience, plenty of it actually. The way she was speaking to him was as if he was someone who acquired a new piece of technology and treated it as simply nothing. He of course had his own words on this. "Let me ask you something, how powerful are these so called 'maidens'?"

Glynda began to open her mouth but was stopped by Qrow. "What are you getting at Gordon?"

He pushed his glasses back onto his nose, the feel only somewhat off. "Let me describe something, then tell me if you even understand even the slightest bit. A mass of fissile material, those being either enriched uranium or plutonium, is forced into supercriticality—allowing an exponential growth of nuclear chain reactions—either by shooting one piece of sub-critical material into another or by compressing using explosive lenses a sub-critical sphere of material using chemical explosives to many times its original density."

The two stared at Gordon with complete confusion, and he began to understand that the sort of weaponry that he'd seen plenty of times around Black Mesa, were non-existent on this planet. While a sign of relief, Gordon understood the difference with what he was dealing with. "This supposed power of 'maidens' could not begin to be compared to what I just said. While I don't mean to be disrespectful in a way where I'm dishonoring your beliefs, but I highly doubt said 'maiden' could destroy an entire country and leave it an inhabitable for years to come."

A look of surprise came from both, a mix of fear and confusion once more. Glynda quickly spoke up. "You think we're lying about Aura's."

Gordon nodded his head in agreement. The entire thing of their being a sort of spiritual energy just didn't sit well with him, even in what seemed to be a fantasy world. He would be dead set on this, at least until it somewhat made sense. Qrow grabbed his flask off the table, brought it up to his lips and drank what seemed to be the rest of the contents. He quickly slipped it back onto his belt and had a smile on his face.

"Come on Gordon. I'm going to show you the 'unbelievable'."

 **Heyyyoo. Would you look at that, another chapter is completed and I'm pretty sure there are plenty of questions, or something of that sort to be asked, so go ahead and do so please. There's not much to add besides I'll try my best to get a chapter out at least once a week, when in the week, I don't know, but hopefully it'll be the week. Toodaloo.**

 **In case any of you were wondering, the Gordon I'm basing this story off of is written by another author who wrote multiple fantastic pieces about Gordon and his travels through Black Mesa and City 17 and so on, so in case you want a better feel for him, go visit** _Super Chocolate Bear_ **and their wonderful stories. An idea as well; reading their stuff while you wait for me to update this one, so that way you can enjoy something while my lazy self-works on the next installment.**


	4. One's Entrance is the Way to Impress

**I'd like to welcome back everyone once again to the next chapter of** _ **A Business Deal for a Friend.**_ **I've seen the attention I've been getting and I've got to ask you wonderful readers, how is my story getting out so well? Since the information has been shared with me, I am the only one with a Half-life, RWBY crossover; I'm only curious. Let's just get on with this chapter after answering some reviews of course. If you post as a guest, I can't exactly respond to the 'you' who reviewed, while I'll try, just wanted to let you know.**

 _Guest#1:_ **You're absolutely right, and don't think I wouldn't include that wonderful piece of weaponry**

 _Guest#2:_ **I understand that reading backwards is annoying, and you'll see that it'll change over time.**

 _Guest#3:_ **I had a good laugh when I wrote that line; believe it or not but I was having a good drink at that time after getting hurt, and what do ya know, alcohol always makes the pain go away.**

 _Guest#4:_ **Gordon has always been beautiful in my eyes... I mean a really good figure to follow into battle, yeah. I'm pretty sure Barney would make fun of him the rest of his life and even more afterword's by having it put on his own gravestone that Gordon was a Maiden.**

 _Guest#5:_ **Gordon can't stay away from his one true soul mate, Crowbar, for too long.**

 _Guest#6:_ **That's going to be the most difficult part of writing this really, trying to explain all of Remnant in scientific terminology, but mostly towards the filed that Gordon works in since not all scientists are geniuses of all departments, and such I have to work with it that was as well.**

 _SilentXD7:_ **Many people seem to miss the amount of power that our own world holds when it comes to weaponry, I mean, we basically have working lasers now. While having a personal forcefield and transforming weapons are cool and all, massive bombs are terrifying.**

 _Priceless22:_ **You're absolutely right, while skill difference might be extremely large, development of weaponry is a whole other field to experience.**

 _Elusive Prey:_ **Thanks, it means very much to me. I can easily saw that if Gordon was impressed by a woman shooting fire and a young girl being able to act as a massive magnet, I can easily say that he will be impressed with how Ruby handles herself.**

 _Tinman:_ **As we all know, Gordon is a beautiful Maiden where it counts... Just kidding. Gordon will always stick to science the first chance he gets, and while having magic is cool and all, there is a little part to it about the Maidens magic that you possibly might have forgotten... You must be a maiden to use it.**

 **Not much to add, but still something in the end. Let's get on with it shall we?**

 **P.S: A little twist for you readers, also it will get somewhat graphical, so just a warning for those who can't handle descriptive injuries and their treatment.**

If there was one thing Gordon could say after walking out of the rather large cabin, it would be that the forest he currently stood in was possibly something out of a fairy tale. Almost no sort of manmade touch has a single sign around the house which was extremely unusually to begin with, but combined with the fact that from what he saw earlier, he figured that society would have at least taken down this much. He ignored the fact as he continued to follow Qrow outside into a large open area. Gordon guessed that this man was going to somehow demonstrate his 'magic' and prove to him that there was indeed a source of mystical power in this world. His opinion of the man was still in the fields of 'not-crazy' but it was beginning to go there since Qrow was carrying a large sword on his back that looked like a sword out of some sort of steampunk style of weaponry.

They stopped walking and Qrow turned around to face him.

"So, you're not going to believe that there is a sort of energy that surrounds us, or the fact that there's something inside of you that you can't begin to understand?"

Gordon just raised his hands into a simple shrug. There were just some things that he couldn't accept, and mystical forces protecting and empowering them through this force was just not one of them.

Qrow sighed as he pulled out the sword. A strangle clicking sound occurred and what happened before Gordon surprised him.

The blade itself began to split into sections and fold backwards, briefly taking on a curved scythe-like shape while the clockwork mechanism in the hilt began to move, the blade itself a gained red sharpened edge on the inside, while the outer edge took on a serrated appearance due to the folding. The hilt telescoped in two places, and to Gordon's surprise still, gave off the look of a traditional farming scythe, or at least he guessed. He'd never seen one in real life since he was a scientist, not a farmer. He began to take back that comment since he used a crowbar for most of his time fighting but was stopped when the man in front of him stabbed the scythes tip into the ground, creating what looked to be a small crater in the ground.

Gordon muttered a quiet "Oh" before glancing closer towards the weapon. While he may not have been in R&D, there was still a natural curiosity about strange weapons. Before he could continue, a familiar figure flew towards him. He raised his hands and caught a familiar feeling in his hands. The aged steel sitting in his now bare hands instead of the gloves that he normally wore. He looked down and saw the peeling red paint and darkened metal that contrasted his pale hands. A smile graced his face but was quickly drawn away by a cough.

"I take it you're a weapon fanatic as well?"

Gordon raised his eyes to Qrow who was staring at him with a questionable glance. He coughed into his hand as he lowered the crowbar down by his side.

"It's...just memories."

He saw Qrow nod his head as he looked back to his own weapon. "You're not the only one, every Hunter that's out there has a connection with their weapon. Practically becomes family when you have it long enough."

Gordon didn't say anything. He figured that others would normally laugh at a comment like that, but he could understand where he was coming from. The steel bar he held in his hand took him farther than anything he'd ever had before, besides his... he realized that even his own education hadn't taken him that far compared to what the crowbar had done. He laughed to himself at that as he continued to watch the man in front of him.

"Consider yourself lucky, well I guess not even that. Not many people get to see this, well at least be around to witness it."

Gordon wondered what he was talking about before he was stopped by Qrow once more.

"Just close your eyes for a single second, then open them; got it?"

Gordon nodded his head. He was truly curious at this point. Was there going to be some sort of magic trick where he pulls an animal from his cape or possibly 'walk on air.' He continued to wonder as he closed his eyes. After what he figured was a second, he opened his eyes and was greeted with a sight, or rather a lack of. The man that once stood in front of him was now gone and instead a Crowe was perched on the edge of the scythe that was stuck in the ground. Gordon couldn't say much at this point. He began to walk towards the scythe, he guessed that Qrow quickly dove behind the house or something, but then he realized that they were in the middle of the field, and that there was nowhere to hide whatsoever.

"Are you ready to listen now?"

Gordon spun around with his crowbar held high, and was instead met with Qrow standing next to his scythe, taking another drink from his flask which he was pretty sure was empty the last time he checked. Thoughts began to flood his mind as he tried to figure out on how he just disappeared like that, was it like magic like how a magician is able to pull birds out of nowhere but really, it's something more like a hidden compartment in their hat or coat, but that bird was...

Gordon quickly looked around for the crow that was sitting on the scythe, and figure that it flew off, but he knew that he didn't hear any sort of wing flapping, then that's when he caught on. He stared at Qrow with wide open eyes and had a single hand pointed out as he lowered his crowbar. He pointed to where the bird was sitting, then back to Qrow. While he repeated this several times, Qrow only nodded his head. Gordon caught the play on word sat this point, Qrow, was the crow... Now he just thought that was complete crazy talk as there is absolutely no way for a man to change into a crow and back, but by this point Gordon had to confirm something, and the only way he was going to get any answers was by listening, and so, he spoke. "I'm all ears."

 **Employment Opportunities**

 _Subject: Shephard_

 _Status: Detained_

 _No Further Evaluation Required_

 _Employment Opportunities available_

Shephard had been sitting on the helicopter for a few minutes, or at least what felt like a few minutes. He knew it had been much longer than that. What might pass for a few minutes for his body, it seemed like a constant loop of his consciousness stopping him from losing all sort of sanity that he would have after the experience at Black Mesa. Time is nothing to him right now, nothing goes anywhere, the only sound that is there is the tapping of his boot on the metal floor of the V-22 Osprey. Many would think that they would take this time as a time to contemplate life as a whole, or maybe discover a new sense of being. Shephard didn't enjoy this luxury, no, as he said in his mind every time it lapsed over, his entire consciousness was in a complete loop so, there was no way to keep a thought for what could be considered for more than ten minutes. He looked back down at his watch and sighed. The time to repeat whatever number of loops it is now is coming closer, and yet again he doesn't care. It was this or some terrible fate, or so said mysterious G-man. He gave that name way back in basic, but it seemed to stick at this point.

Shepard leaned back and let his head rest on the seat. He almost tried to fall asleep but was pulled back to reality by a coughing of someone new. His eyes shot open and saw the last thing he would want to see, or rather is still seeing. The G-man was standing in front of him once again, the same suit and tie along with suitcase in his hand. The same bland expression, pale skin, and green eyes. Shepard could've sworn they were blue back when he sat in this same position before, but he decided to ignore it and speak, or at least he tried too. The words he tried to speak out of his mouth were instead forced to stay inside like a trapped animal wanting to run free. Instead the man in front of him spoke.

"I see you've taken a liking to your... situation Corporal Shepard."

Shepard felt like standing up and smashing the man's head into the side of the helicopter, but to no dismay, he was unable to move no matter what he tried. The man continued to speak.

"When we last left off, well... That's another time that... let's just say never happened." The man adjusted his tie. "The time has come to... offer you an opportunity of a life-time, or at least yoursss." He began to pace along the metal floor "My... employersss have decided to give you a chance to prove yourself for a single chance; think of it as a sort of... Internship." He stopped in front of Shepard once more. "You complete this job successfully, and you can guarantee yourself a position like no other. Don't fret though... You won't be alone; a fellow coworker will be there as well so, don't think everything is up to you." He seemed to be staring into Shepards eyes at this point. "Don't think of purposely sabotaging this chance either Corporal Shepard; I won't be hurt in the slightest, rather, you will be the one to suffer something so unthinkable that you'd rather wish you were dead instead." He turned away from Shepard and began to walk towards the portal he left through the first time. "I've taken the liberties of returning everything you had the last time we spoke; do take care. Good luck Corporal Adrian Shepard." With that the man walked through the portal, leaving Shepard alone on the osprey once more.

Shepard sat in the seat, completely lost in his own words and those of the man. An internship? A coworker? What job could he possibly be going on? As if acting on his words alone, everything outside the VTOL changed. The sky turned to a bright blue, and clouds flew by him. Without a moment notice, a feeling of vertigo hit him, or rather the falling feeling. That's right, he was falling, or rather the VTOL he was in was falling towards the ground. He felt the g-force of the speed begin to push him onto the floor of the VTOL. In a blind jump, Shepard reached for the door that now replaced the portal that the man entered. The cockpit in sight, he figured if he was going to crash, it was going to be in style.

Shepard pulled himself up, the forces now pushing him into the side of the controls, the VTOL now beginning to spin. He couldn't tell if he was just not feeling anything, or the PVC he was wearing was somehow stopping him from experiencing vertigo. A sudden change in gravity caused him to float upwards and slam onto the side of the pilot's seat. A grunt escaped from his mouth as he clambered into the pilot seat and buckle himself in; whether it would help or not didn't come across his mind, just not wanting to continue to tumble around the cockpit was the only thing he focused on at the moment.

After Shepard clicked the last buckle into place, he attempted to get a figure on where he was, but instead was only meet with a spinning headache alongside a mixture of blue and white in front of him. He guessed those to be the clouds and sky itself, but for all he knew it could've been the sea. He saw that everything inside the VTOL was on and operating, it was made even more clear by the ear blaring alarms screaming at him to fix the aircraft. While he hadn't had any sort of flying lessons, he took it as the rod in front of him to be the Centre-stick. He grabbed ahold on it and yanked it towards him, whether or not he knew if it would do anything, a sudden change in his spinning most certainly did. He glanced to his left, then to his right and saw a very distinct problem.

The two propellers where at completely different angles where one was at a zero-degree angle and was propelling him into a perpetual spin while the other was at what looked to be a perfect ninety. While he was no VTOL pilot, he sure as fuck knew that it wasn't supposed to be like that. Before he could think of anything, he glanced downwards and saw something he wasn't expecting at all, another stick, well rather control-half stick. Shepard knew that helicopters only had one joy-stick, but at this point he had to think all sorts of something new to try and figure out what he was now holding onto. His feet where slipped into what he could guess where the peddles for the rudder.

At this point, Shepard was more confused about the VTOL than he was his situation. Before he could look further into what he was attempting to do, a sudden jerk and a flash of leaves was the last thing he saw before his head crashed into the dashboard in front of him.

Only minutes passed and Shepard was brought back into the world of the living as the blaring of the onboard systems annoyed him to no end. His head was pounding as he unbuckled from the seatbelt and climbed from the seat. He didn't even care to look around before climbing back through the door that lead to the 'belly of the beast'. He looked around then and noticed many things that were not there before when he was aboard the VTOL. From what he could quickly count, there was at least twelve boxes of what looked to be 50. Caliber ammunition. Before he could question, out of the corner of his eye sat attached to the vehicle was an M2 Browning machine gun in what looked to be in excellent condition. He glanced back towards the body and saw that there were multiple medical packs that a normal field medic would carry around, a strange amount of them as well, at least six sat scattered around the VTOL's interior. Before he could continue, a gunshot attracted his attention. He quickly looked around for a weapon but only came up with what looked like what he could tell was... a wrench. He felt that his knife was still attached to his vest but his other weapons came up missing. He could waste time searching around for his actual firearms but decided that there was a time and place for such actions and the gunshots weren't getting any quieter but rather much louder.

Shepard grabbed ahold of the wrench and crawled his way next to the mounted M2 Machine gun and peaked over the edge of the VTOL. What he saw was much different from what he was expecting. The first thing he noticed, or rather smelled was the salt. It became much clearer that the salt was of the sea variant and that the trees that he was seeing were of the tropical variant as well. The next thing he saw were the people standing in the clearing, or rather fighting in the clearing. Multiple bodies collided with one another in what looked to be melee weapon combat, and what adorned them confused him even more. Each individual had what looked to be animal features; tails and ears alike. While that most certainly caught his attention, the black beasts, or what looked to be alien was attacking both forces, even those who shared what looked like masks alongside the alien beasts.

Shepard was extremely lost at the moment, and before he could even take a step forwards, a figure came flying through the open port he was peeking out of, and slammed right into the wall behind him. He quickly turned around and saw what that figure was, or at least he though he knew. The figure that was lying against the wall looked to be a female with... certain ears that resembled that of a... Kangaroo? She looked to be in pain, then Shepard noticed that the girl in front of him was indeed missing what looked to be an entire leg.

Without hesitation, Shepard dashed over towards a medic bag and quickly ran back over to the girl. Looking at the wound, he was thankfully enough that it was possibly the cleanest cut he'd seen before. He began to remember his training, while not a medic, he sure didn't waste any chance at learning how to treat wounds. Before he continued, he looked in the bag and pulled out a pair of, what he guessed to be sterile gloves. Slipping off his own, he replaced them with the white gloves and went to work. He quickly looked for what looked to be an artery, and it came up rather quickly, the spirting blood giving it away. He knew that he had to pinch the arteries that were bleeding, but while glancing over it, he only saw that single one, and so, he pinched. A jolt of pain seemed to affect the girl, and while he tried to hold her down, it seemed rather difficult. She almost seemed to be overpowering him at this point, but instead of attempting to wrestle her down, he only knew what to do best. He grabbed a needle and morphine and loaded it up before grabbing her wrist and holding her down long enough to administer her the pain-relieving drug.

It seemed to act quick enough, as most of this wonder-drug did, and she began to calm down. Shepard took this as a sign and quickly went back to what he was doing. Since he was the only one there, he had to release the artery and apply one of the tourniquet that was inside the bag to stop as much bleeding as he could. Noticing that much of the bleeding began to stop, he began looking around the bag for some sort of wire to tie it off. The only thing he could find was dental floss, while he was curious on why it was there, he pushed away the thought and began to tie off the arteries that he was holding onto. Following the first knot, he tied several others below it just to be sure. He knew that he wasn't done and he began looking around for something to clean the wound up with. He found a bottle of water on the bag and took ahold of it, spraying some water on the wound, the girl shook in pain once again, but this time Shepard didn't hold her down since she stopped rather quickly. He began to wash the wound and clean up anything such as dirt or grass that had placed itself there in her flight through the air.

Shepard thought of cauterizing the wound, but after glancing around, he noticed that there was no equipment even remotely ready for him to even use. He glanced back at the wound and realized that the wounds were already beginning to close themselves ever so slightly, causing the bleeding to slow down somewhat. He took this as a sign to very slowly release the tourniquet ever so slightly, paying much attention to the wound to make sure it didn't end up bleeding up even more. To his luck it didn't. He began looking back in the bag and came up with some sort of gauze, and a roll of bandages. While not the most proficient and applying bandages, since he made it this far, he can't be that bad at it.

He first covered the wound in the antibiotic ointment he found in the bag, what kind it was didn't bother him. As long as she didn't start screaming in pain or suddenly pass out was all that mattered to him. After applying the ointment, he reached for the gauze. He wrapped around it several times, making sure to cover up as much as he could with each wrap. After wrapping it to the best of his ability, he brought out the bandages and began following the same procedure by wrapping around it multiple times. After doing so, he pins the bandages together to stop them from falling off. Shepard looked around and took two of the medical packs and placing them below the stump and laying the girl on her back. He made sure that she was still awake, and still to his luck she was. She seemed to be saying something, but he ignored it and took it as a sort of rambling of those in intense pain.

Falling onto his rear, he looked at his handiwork and felt like patting himself on the back for saving someone's life there... something he couldn't do back at Black Mesa. Shepard shook away the thought, and before he could remove the gloves, he heard that the shooting and clanging of metal had stopped. He listened closely and was greeted with a rather pleasant shout.

"Find that girl and get her out here, I know she was thrown into there." Shepard knew immediately where 'there' was. "Climb in there and get her out so I can choke the life out of that traitorous bitch!"

Shepard turned to the opening of the VTOL and his eyes quickly were laid upon the gun emplacement that sat there. He smiled underneath his mask. He crawled his way towards the gun, staying out of sight, and he saw that there was a full ammo box attached to the gun. His luck must've been the best today. He listened closely to the footsteps that were getting closer and closer with each second. At what Shepard guessed him to only be meters away, he jumped onto the gun and pulled the bolt back to chamber a cartridge into the barrel. His hands wrapped around the handles in the back and the barrel aimed directly at the man in front of him. If Shepard really cared to remember, he could easily say that the man's expression was one of pure confusion before there was no face to express it.

When Shepard finally got a chance to look out in front of him, there were bodies that were scattered around the field, but the ones that were still alive from his point of view were the ones with the strange masks that matched the aliens, which was strange since there was no sign of the otherworldly beasts. Without no sign of stopping, Shepard continued to mow down those who stood within his line of sight, absolutely shredding those who didn't even attempt to run away, and those that did where met with the same fate. What confused him to no end was that some of the people in the opening attempted to 'dodge' out of the way of his bullets, which of course were met with death as well. He didn't even try to question why someone would attempt to do acrobatics while getting shot, it just reminded him of the black-ops assassins he fought at Black Mesa, their attempts also yielded nothing as well.

Shepard dropped the box when he ran out of ammo, quickly climbing back and grabbing another box. He quickly loaded back onto the gun and began the process all over again. He didn't know if they were all dead, or gone at this point, all he knew is that if he went down, so would the girl behind him? Before he could turn around and check on her, he felt a tugging on his vest. He stopped shooting and glanced behind him, the first thing his saw were the ears, then the girl lying right behind him.

He responded rather fast. "What the hell are you doing? You're injured, go back and lie down, I'll take care of this."

Her words were rather contorted and while slurred at first, he found out that he couln't understand her at all. "...esaelp ,esle enoyna truh t'nod ,esaelp ...mmirG eht tsuj ,meht toN" (Not them, just the Grimm... please, don't hurt anyone else, please...)

Shepard found this extremely confusing since right before he started this entire thing, he clearly understood what they were saying outside, and could perfectly understand the amount of hostility in his voice as well. Before he could respond to her, he turned back around and saw what he considered to be a problem. Those black alien beasts were at least numbering a good thirty in the tree line in front of him at the moment, and while he had plenty of ammunition, the current box he had was almost empty. He gritted his teeth underneath his mask. Well, if he was going to die, at least it was to some damn animals instead of some sadistic assholes, and so, he began to firing into the black horde. He quickly took down the entire first row of the aliens, and strangely enough there was no reaction from them, which gave him time to jump back down and drag three boxes back with him. From there he loaded up and began shooting into the now growing black mass in front of him.

Firing and firing, Shepard could swear that he was beginning to lose his hearing by this point. While he brought three boxes with him when this horde shooting started, from what he could see there was at least eleven empty boxes that he'd thrown outside... He just realized that he had this box and another one right after. He looked to the black mass and noticed that even after all this shooting, there seemed to be no end to it in front of him. He figured that after so many bodies it would create some sort of wall at this point, but there were no bodies littered across the ground, he couldn't even tell if the bodies of those he shot earlier were still there. A sound came clearly over the massive amount of snarling of the beasts in front of him, and that was the sound of clicking.

Shepard slammed the box off and threw it towards the encroaching black mass. He cursed to himself as he quickly loaded the last box onto the gun, and pulled the bolt back for what he guessed would be his last time. He began firing off into the mass once more, gritting his teeth as his hands became numb from the non-stop firing he's been doing for what he could have guessed for maybe fifteen minutes at this point. Shepard could see it on the gun as well, the barrel gaining a red-hot look. He had the slightest idea that he could cauterize the girls wound with it, but realized that was a terrible idea, and that he is just lucky at this point since he would be a terrible doctor.

He could noticeably tell that he was getting close to running out of ammo, the Hud telling him that he had about thirty shots left, but from what he could see in front of him, there was about another fifty aliens still remaining, though he took pride in clearing out what he considered to be an entire army of these damn things, there was also confusion since he's pretty sure he'd have cleared out the entire species at this point. Shepard was about to start firing once more until he heard more shouting, and then was soon followed up by a large mass of shadows dashing into the horde of aliens, quickly dispatching them. He didn't know what to do at this point, whether to keep shooting or... He looked down and realized that he never stopped shooting, and that he'd been ignoring the constant clicking that was coming from the now empty gun. He cursed to himself once more as he climbed back into the VTOL. From there, he began looking around for anything he could carry on himself, and to his luck, which seemed to be endless today, was a pristine Desert Eagle lying on one of the medic bags. Though he didn't see any ammo to go with it, as he began to climb for it, he tripped over what he could tell was the now sea of ammo casings that littered the floor. A quick crash into the wall next to the girl caused him to curse out loudly as he held his head.

Shepard quickly shook it off and grabbed ahold of the handgun, the feeling almost natural in his grip. He noticed that the sounds outside have died down considerably, and so he climbed his way back up and glanced around the edge of the VTOL and saw that the horde he was once battling was now completely gone, no bodies or anything. Instead he saw more people with animal parts, but what he saw which was different than before, they didn't adorn a mask like those of the aliens. He ducked his head back in and began to count his options. While he could attempt to fight his way out, he doubted it would work. These people were here for the girl probably, and thus if they got here, they probably would take her and leave... He doubted himself there as well. While he could just attempt to run, from what he could tell when they first got here, they were much more athletic than he was, and they would easily catch him within the first minute he would get to run, and if not them, the aliens would probably get him.

Shepard then got an idea, while it was an incredibly stupid one, it was better than the previous ones. He picked up the girl and began to drag her outside. The moment he did, he heard one of them shout. "!ereh revo srovivrus era erehT" (There are survivors over here!)

He quickly turned around, holding the girl with his arm and a gun to her head. Yes, Shepard would take this girl hostage and demand that he be taken to some sort of leadership and ask for transportation out of here and hopefully back to America if he was lucky enough. All of those that were standing out there immediately took a cautioned stance, some of them pointing their guns at him while other had different types of melee weapons. While he expected this, what he didn't expect was... the trombone?

Shepard shook away the thought as he shouted towards those standing in front of him. "My name is Corporal Adrian Shepard of the United States Military. I demand safe passage to civilization!"

Those that were standing in front of them didn't lower their weapons, instead those standing behind them showed faces of either curiosity or confusion, Shepard didn't care at this point. He saw the most front one walk up; what he could tell is that the woman shared an almost canny resemblance to that of a leopard. She began to speak. "esaelp ,nopaew eht pord tsuj ,su htiw uoy ekat ll'ew dna og reh tel tsuj ,mrah yna naem t'nod eW" (We don't mean any harm, just let her go and we'll take you with us, just drop the weapon, please)

Shepard again didn't understand a single word of what he heard, just absolute gibberish. He began to question his options at this point, while he could throw the girl at them, that would just not sit well with him at all since he was the one to fix her up to the best of his abilities, which he could still say was complete luck. That's when it hit him, the exhaustion. He wasn't sure if It was Black Mesa catching up with him or the entire thing he's encounter within what he could guess was the last hour or so. His legs could feel it, and so he took the best option with it. He fell down onto his rear and caught the girl in his arms before she could hit the ground. He rested his head on the back of the VTOL and decided that if he was going to die, or anything of the sort, he was going to sleep first. With that, he fell asleep.

 **Hey hey hey, how did all of you like that? A surprise huh, I know whenever I thought this up at like 1 in the morning I was thinking, "This is brilliant and I hope that everyone else likes it as well." And I really do hope you all like it as well. This chapter is getting posted early by the way, so no chapter this Saturday, hopefully you all are fine with that, I just didn't want to wait and let this chance slip away while it was one my mind.**

 **A quick note: I know my writing isn't the best and honestly the ideas aren't all there either, if anyone would like to help, just send me a PM. While I'm an '** _ **artist of the literary arts'**_ **I certainly don't think I'm that good at it. Just wanted to ask. Have a wonderful time everyone and get to bein happy.**

 **P.S Don't forget to post your opinions and such, it really does help me a lot.**


	5. 2 Minds Aren't Always Greater Than One

**Hello everyone and welcome back. All this support is very helpful towards the entirety of this story, and in general, it makes me happy seeing what you all have to say as well. Let's just respond to you wonderful readers.**

 _Elusive Prey:_ **If Gordon could get to the point of accepting everything for what it is throughout the Half-life series, I don't doubt that he would come to accept the crazy world of Remnant, though it will take longer because of it not being science of course. And will his trust spore launcher return? Only time will tell in this case.**

 _:_ **I'm not particularly aware of the differences in their uniforms, but since I haven't gotten there yet, I'll be sure to put in the detail to cleanup any confusion.**

 _CP Officer 376:_ **While I adore the 'Mind' trilogy, I can't find myself using it solely alone that way. I find a joy in mixing the two together and creating a masterpiece that only could be found here... hopefully.**

 _Guest:_ **While It is saddening that you did not enjoy the Shepard section, he is a character that I felt that somewhat got the short-end of the stick when it came to the series, and this way I can use him in a better way than just floating in an empty abyss.**

 _Black Mesa:_ **I have indeed played it, actually I just finished it and I'm super excited for Xen to be finished.**

 _Guest:_ **You're absolutely right about that reader. Though if the Combine will make their way to Remnant, only time will tell, with the whole rebellion on Earth and all still being a problem.**

 **While not much to say, I'm truly happy for those who continue to read this and hopefully I can continue to satisfy your desires of our crowbar hero stuck in a world of magic.**

Gordon had never been a child to believe in the supernatural. While he did enjoy occasional reads of the fantasy and took part in some games of sort that simulated such things, he could never accept that they were ever real, it just seemed to illogical at the time. He carried on these thoughts into Black Mesa, and that's where his foundation began to shake, aliens and the like creating such a rift in his own logic. It was then followed up by his adventures through City 17 and battling the multi-dimensional force known as the combine. While Gordon could come to accept such things, there was still the matter of magic and the like that he just couldn't believe it. Looking back, he could remember a significant saying from one of his idols, the man himself, Albert Einstein.

 _"If you can't explain it simply, you don't understand it well enough."_

While that was clear within Gordon's head, he just couldn't see himself even beginning to understand what exactly Aura, Dust, and Semblances, or even Grimm were or if they were actually created through some sort of cosmic battle or feud between religious deities, but then in the end they decided on creating on great thing that was more powerful than everything? Now he wasn't a religious man, but even this sounded a bit made up.

What didn't help this out entirely was the fact that when Gordon decided he would listen to all of this mumbo jumbo that everyone believes in from Qrow, the man instead came back with a stack of childish picture books. Now that was an insult to his intelligence; he didn't write a paper explaining teleportation through the use of solid, unstable elements to only have his intellect laughed at by other worldly aliens who believe in magic. Yet here he was, sitting outside in the grass with an open picture book while Qrow sat across from him drinking from what seemed to be his never-ending flask of healing alcohol. He decided to speak up and ask the man what exactly the point of this.

"Are you trying to insult me Qrow." Gordon asked.

The man across from him quickly lowered his flask and closed it. He set it to his side as he stared at Gordon. "What makes you think that?"

"Since I asked you to explain to me everything that had to do with magic and such, you've only given me these picture books that explain some aspects of these things, which I still doubt exist, and the entire thing is... There children's picture books." Gordon was holding the picture book in the air towards Qrow. A look of disdain upon his face.

Qrow sighed as he put his hands behind his back and leaned back as well. "This is the easiest way to do so. All the teachers that could tell you about it, are either scattered, or are in a situation that won't allow for it, because of the time that is. While we have Glynda, we only have her for a limited amount of time, and myself, well teaching sucks, and with all of this going down, I'm basically on vacation until we find some sort of way to resolve all of this."

Gordon was starting to get tired of all of this 'nonchalant' attitude towards this whole thing. Maybe it was because he was used to being shot at most of the time in the period of at least what could be totaled a few weeks maybe, but from what he could put together at this time is that this was some sort of world ending stuff, and in that case, it needed to be taken care of as soon as possible.

Qrow spoke again. "And if I were to give you the deep specifics, well, this isn't the place; it's not secluded enough."

Not secluded enough Gordon thought. Apparently being in the middle of the forest was not secluded enough and even then, being in the middle of the forest isn't secluded enough! What was he looking for, the entirety of space itself? Gordon sighed as he replied to the ridiculous excuse. "If it isn't secluded enough, how about that strange, blocked from anything outside, safe room inside the house?" That seemed like the best place to Gordon, seeing on how it was something he'd seen out of those cop movies, where the interrogation room could only be seen through the one-way window and the only way you could hear anything was through the microphone in the room, and if he remembers correctly, which he's pretty sure he does, there wasn't any of that in there.

Qrow sat quietly for a few seconds before speaking up again. "While that is a very viable option at the moment, I'd believe there are better times to explain it as well, and it's not like you need the deep specifics of everything on Remnant anyways. I still don't believe you about being from another planet." Qrow held up a hand to stop him responding. "Here, if you so claim to not be from Remnant, then take a swing at me with that crowbar of yours. If you're truly someone without and Aura and are not from this planet, then it shouldn't do anything to me with my Aura active."

Gordon had to stop himself there. The man in front of him was asking him to hit him with his crowbar to prove his point of having an active spiritual force-field around him... Alright. Gordon stood up with his weapon in hand, and awkwardly tried to take a stance before walking closer to the man. "You won't be mad at me if I cave in your forehead, will you?"

Qrow let out a chuckle. "That's if you..."

He was sudden; y cut off as Gordon swung the crowbar into the man's head, sending him slamming onto the ground, cracking it around his head, and earning a groan from the man as well.

"Ouch."

Gordon had to look down at his hand holding the crowbar. While he knew that hitting anyone with a metal bar with all their strength will cause them to smack to the ground, but what he didn't expect was the ever so small crater he made with Qrow's head, and also the response that followed after doing so. Normally an 'Ouch' was a sign that the receiving person was not dead from the blow, and that they did indeed survive such a blow to the cranium. He only continued to question the situation as the man got up and grabbed ahold of his arm. A wicked smile was on his face as he stared at Gordon.

"That hurt, and this whole 'I'm from another planet and I'm only a simple human' crap is starting to sound like a lie to me." Anger seemed to resonate with his voice.

While Gordon would normally argue at this point, even he was completely confused at this entire situation. He's never hit anyone that hard, well, at least he never witnessed a 'normal' person get back up. There was Viktor back at St. Olga's... but that thing wasn't anywhere near being human. He shook off the memory of the terrifying Combine he battled and instead was focused on the man gripping tightly on his arm.

"Can you... Let go of my arm please?"

Qrow then lifted himself to his feet, stumbling only slightly, still holding onto Gordon's arm. "Since it seems like you like to tell some myths about mythical places where there are devastating weapons that could destroy the entire planet, how about I return the favor since you do seem to have something surrounding you." Qrow began to raise his fist towards Gordon but was quickly stopped by a familiar voice. Gordon could only thank the woman that stopped the impending doom that was about to come to his non-broken glasses.

"Qrow, Dr. Freeman. I believe you two might wish to come and see this, especially you Doctor, it does involve you of course."

While Gordon wanted to ask even more countless questions, if this involved him, it probably wasn't good, or was too good to be true to begin with. Whatever it might be, he only sighed as Qrow let go of his arm and allowed the two to walk into the house.

 **Worry not, this is just a small bit I wanted to add; I won't make more unless there is a lot of support towards it.**

 **_**  
 _Happening at the same time_

One would think that in the middle of a world-wide resistance, all arms available would be put towards the efforts of fighting the force that is causing the distain throughout the world even towards the smallest of efforts... such as searching for the one who was to lead it all. That however was not the case of the former security guard/ CP officer who was currently reading a specific magazine that included many pictures of that which many would blush at out in the open while relaxing on a chair in front of what could be considered the most advanced computer during said resistance. That's right, Barney Calhoun Is indeed slacking off from doing his job, and is reading a "special" magazine for grown men while doing so.

"You know, even now when all of this is going down, the scientists are still the ones who have to do all the work while all I have to do is sit around and press a few buttons every now and then... just like the old days."

Barney smiled as he licked his thumb and flipped another page of the magazine, every now and then he would change his position in the chair and adjust his footing among the various buttons upon the massive interface that was laid before him. While he was supposed to be checking constantly for any sign of Gordon Freeman, a long friend of his and now a leader of the resistance, he found after attempting to do so for about four hours, he found it easier to allow it to search automatically and if something came up, he'd be here to answer it. Yet there had been anything his entire time being here.

Barney sighed at his situation. Looking back, at least when Gordon was here, there was at least something to do, though most of the time it included him being shot at or actually being in a position where he wasn't allowed to slack off, or at least do so when he wasn't being shot at. He could remember the time when they realized their famed scientist was gone; he was the one who had to give some sort of crazy reason as to why he wasn't here, leading the resistance against the Combine and their totalitarian ways... He'd like to say that but he couldn't think of what that word even meant after hearing the doc say it so many times. It was almost like yesterday... if yesterday was an entire year.

 _'Yeah so, uh...' Barney stood silent amongst the thousands that stood before him, waiting for the reason as to why their savior had suddenly disappeared in their time of need. 'Gordon Freeman, the one man to free us all from the Combine, did the only thing that could be done by such a man, and that is take the fight to the Combine themselves!' He heard many whispers, and even more confused or worried looks before those who stood before him. 'He wasn't satisfied letting them invade our world, no, no no no, so to respond he took it to theirs. I can swear on my life that he is causing the most hell possible to those suns-of-bitches right now, that if we were to compare everything he did here, it would be hardly even being comparable by anything.' Still only whispers and worried looks were laid before him, and Barney could only think of one last thing to add. 'So, if he can kick ass on an entirely different planet once again, what's stopping us from continuing his work here; so, who's with me to kick some alien ass!' He raised his fist, which only was returned with thousands of other fists and yelling protruding from the mass in front of him. Barney could only wonder what could have happened if his speech didn't work, at least he didn't mess up the English language itself._

Looking back on the speech, Barney was pretty proud of himself. It was not only made up on the spot because he lost a bet with Alyx; which he could've sworn was rigged or something, because last time he checked there was only three things you could choose from in rock, paper, scissors, not 'rock, paper, scissors, "giant metal dog".' Cheating girl. He sighed once more. He could understand her not wanting to go up in front of the ground, probably out of everyone at this point, she was hurting the most at that moment. Losing her father and not even a week later the man (Barney guessed) she possibly came to "admire" disappeared. Man, even he couldn't understand what that would feel like, sure he 'had' a girlfriend, yet that was probably not even a thing anymore in his situation.

He sighed again as he flipped another page. He began to wonder if it was his age getting to him or if the field at City 17 just dulled everything that had to do with libido within him... again, whether or not he knew what that was, was another topic at another time. He could feel himself becoming somewhat parched, so he reached next to him for what he guessed was a good ol' soft drink, since water was still yet to be determined safe to drink, and if not water, then the next best thing would be a Coke.

When he brought around what he thought to be the very soft drink he enjoyed, he was rather displeased with what he found.

"Pepsi? Nobody likes Pepsi, the stuff tastes like... whatever something extremely bad tastes like." He leaned up in his chair and tossed the canned beverage towards a vent, earning a bang from the impact, and the sudden release of the hinges of the metal grate and it falling to the ground. Barney smiled as he nodded his head in amusement, then proceeding to return to kicking his feet up and reading his magazine.

As he continued to read, he kept on hearing a strange sound, and while he couldn't place his finger on it, he decided to ignore it. That is until he heard a certain screech. Barney tilted his head to the side, refusing to get up from his position and was greeted with the worst sight he could have hoped for; Lamarr.

"AHHHHHHHH!" Barney screamed as he held up his hands as the head-crab jumped towards him, causing him to flip out of his chair and onto the ground, sending the magazine into the air. He quickly jumped to his feet, chair in hands. "Come out you damn pest; without the doc here, I'll kill you once and for all you damn thing." He took a few more steps while turning in circles to look all around him with the chair raised. He turned around once more and saw the head-crab sitting on the interface of the computer with something sitting in-between it's... claws... pincers? Barney could care less at this moment, for what he saw was the very Pepsi he threw earlier.

"Where you waiting in that damn vent this entire time just so you could get revenge on me you damn thing, well jokes on you, The Calhoun has another idea... Die!" Barney raised the chair but was stopped when the head-crap pierced the soda can, spraying all over the computers interface and the face of Barney, causing him to drop the chair and rub his face.

"You damn pest! That's cheap fighting, like throwing sand in the eyes but worse since its Pepsi." Barney shouted while taking a few steps back while rubbing his eyes, only to trip over the very chair he dropped to clean his face. Upon getting back up, he could feel the rage seething from himself, and he glanced around, only to see the head-crab that has been causing him trouble sitting on the edge of the very vent it came through, practically taunting him as he shook... it's rear...

He started to reach for the chair to throw at the pest before he noticed something that wasn't the way it was before. His eyes fell upon the Pepsi that now rested upon the interface of the computer, causing it to spark every now and then, giving off stranger readings then he'd even seen. A face of worry appeared on Barney's face. "I knew Pepsi was bad, but not this bad!" He ran up to the computer and took his over shirt off, and began rubbing furiously at the mess, hitting numerous buttons in the process. While he ignored this, something else began to sound off. A beeping sound, a sound that should only sound when the program found the very thing it has been looking for this entire time.

Barney stopped rubbing at the mess and glanced at the very large screen that now showed what looked to be the inside of a house and the one thing that he immediately caught sight of the one thing he could never forget. There it was, the suit of Gordon Freeman was standing up with what looked to a... coat hanger? "What the hell, is Gordon taking a vacation in some sort of mountain cabin?" Barney shook away the confusion. "I've got to tell Alyx and the doc that I've found his suit at least, now let me..." Barney stopped himself as a woman walked in front of the screen, well more like across the room in front of him.

The woman was sporting light-blonde hair tied back in a bun with a nice curl hanging down. Her eyes were bright green and an interesting pair of glasses sat on her face. What caught Barney's attention was her outfit. She had a white long-sleeved, pleated top that had a wide keyhole neckline and gauntlet cuffs that flared in pleats at the wrist. Her lower body is covered by a black high-waisted pencil skirt with bronze buttons and black-brown stockings. Though the screen was blocking what kind of shoes she was wearing, Barney could get a guess. They had to be at least some sort of boots from the outfit he guessed, and the cape was an interesting on her part.

"Looking nice teach." Barney whistled to himself, which caught the attention of the one being looked at.

The woman turned around and glanced towards Barney, or at least what Barney was supposedly looking out from. "Who said that?" She walked closer and bent over, revealing a rather interesting cleavage sitting there. "Who are you and what are you doing inside this television?"

Barney quickly scrambled as he quickly moved on his feet, setting up the chair and leaning on it in what he considered and attempt to 'look cool'. He pointed towards himself as he glanced at the woman on the other side of the screen. "You talking to me?"

This earned a sigh from the woman as she began to reach her hand up from what he guessed to turn off the TV, which Barney saw as a very bad sign. "Wait wait wait!" He shouted while waving his hands towards her. "Calhoun, Barney Calhoun."

She stopped in her action to turn off the TV and took a few steps back. "Am I supposed to know who that is?"

This took Barney by surprise. While he certainly wasn't Gordon, he was a resistance leader like the rest of them, and because of that his name spread across the world as being one of the people to lead them through the revolution. This lead Barney to question her now, "Hold on, can I ask you something real fast." He held out his hands, somewhat in a plead.

He saw the woman sigh again and heard her say something along the lines of, 'Great, now I'm talking to a man in the Television.' "Speak then."

Barney sighed. He should have expected this from her look, she's one of the strict types... He chuckled at his comment and when he looked back at her, she was giving him an annoyed look. "Okay okay, have you heard of Isaac Kleiner at all?"

"I have not."

Barney was really getting curious and all. Sure, while the doc wasn't exactly the resistances favorite, he was still one of the greatest minds of them. If they didn't know him, or the doc, then they'd know about Alyx.

"How about Alyx Vance, daughter of Eli Vance, former Resistance leader?" Barney had to hold back from shedding a tear when talking about Eli. While he wasn't that well acquainted with him at Black Mesa, being part of this entire operation got that chance to happen and well, the whole time was enjoyable, but with him gone, he just felt that there was this empty space among them all the entire time.

She shook her head. "That doesn't ring a bell."

Barney only sighed once more as he came up with his last question. "How about Gordon Freeman, 'the One Free Man', another leader of the Resistance?"

This earned a reaction from the woman. "I have met with Dr. Freeman, he's currently recovering from his wounds at the moment."

Wounds? What the hell did Gordon get himself into now? Barney knew Gordon, and he also knew that he never took off the suit unless... well he never took off the suit unless he just didn't have it. Barney silently cursed at Gordon, his friend was getting the treatment from some hot teacher babe while Gordon was stuck looking for his scientist friend, lucky bastard.

"Yeah, him. He's a good friend of him, and that's his suit you have... hanging right there." He pointed behind her. "And if you wouldn't mind telling us where you're at, we'll be there as soon as possible to pick up our good friend."

She shook her head which in turn earned a grunt from Barney. "Tell us where you're located Mr. Calhoun, we'll make our way in time. The last thing we need is to draw attention to us."

Barney sighed as he sat down in the chair, reaching his hands over the interface. After clicking a few buttons, a map came up with his location, and while he could have just remembered where exactly he was located, he didn't remember. A map appeared on another screen and showed him... one place he should have remembered.

"We're currently at..." Barney chuckled as he turned away from the screen.

"What's so funny Mr. Calhoun?"

"We're at Titty-Ho in the United Kingdom." Barney stifled another laugh while looking away.

When he looked back, he could see a very annoyed face of the woman. "This is not the time for jokes Mr. Calhoun, where on Remnant are you?"

This caught Barney's attention and made him begin to question the situation. "We're not 'on' Remnant Miss, and don't say Misses and break my heart..."

"Goodwitch, Glynda Goodwitch." She looked to be tapping her foot when she said this, telling Barney that he got a reaction from.

"Well Ms. Goodwitch, we're not 'on' Remnant, were currently located on planet Earth."

"That's exactly what Dr. Freeman said; whatever this 'Earth' you're talking about doesn't exist on any map of Remnant."

That's when Barney realized what situation Gordon was in, and what became even more of a problem was how he was going to get the doc to understand, wait, he didn't need to understand, he could just bring him here. "Wait here Ms. Goodwitch, I'm going to get someone who could explain this situation ten times better than I ever could." Before he could take off, he heard a cough come from the woman on the other side of the screen.

"Before you go Mr. Calhoun, you might want to retrieve your shirt, and... your reading material." The last part sounded a bit agitated. Barney looked down and noticed that he was indeed shirtless, and when he began to question what she meant by 'reading material' he saw it somewhat stuck to the corner of the screen.

"Uhhhhh...That's not mine, I mean, the shirt is, but not that. That's the doc's, uhhh he... has a lot of spare time, and uhhh, this is his computer and uhh, I... I'm going now!" Barney quickly dashed out of the room while still shirtless, leaving the magazine on the screen and Glynda standing on the other side. They had to see this, Gordon had gone and actually gotten himself onto another damn planet.

_ **I feel like I'm putting out these chapters faster than I'd think I would, and that my posting at least once a week, usually I planned to do so every Saturday, turns more into 'whenever I feel like throughout the week.' While I'm pretty sure none of you mind, just saying it might continue like this until I feel like stabilizing myself. Also, while only slightly shorter, I do apologize for this of course, and for the very, pretty much non-existent action which we normally see Gordon get himself into. Just for those wondering, I plan on tying this in with the show and how it progresses, and until I actually reach that point, our hero will be playing scientist instead of gun-hoe shooting badass. Don't worry though, he will make that appearance very soon, I can absolutely promise that.**

 **P.S. Like I said, if people really want the Earth side point of view through the other characters, or possibly just Barney, I want to really see it, seeing on how some people dislike anyone other than Gordon, which I won't slam for it either.**

 **Thank you for not only visiting, but also reading. Have a wonderful day and be sure to solve some theoretical equation in honor of our grown man, or don't if you can't. It's the thought that matters. Bye bye.**


	6. What Did I Sign Up For

**Merry Christmas readers. Sorry for the late chapter, my life is hectic, that is all. Enjoy the read everyone.**

A black void, vague of everything that is life, and light. Center of what one would convince one's self to be the entirety of the mass, a man floats. His body weightless in the empty abyss, akin to that of a bubble, yet unaffected by the winds of the planet that it would be enclosed upon. The man, old by appearance, older through time itself. Fitted in an unzipped black suit over a buttoned vest and green shirt. He also wears black trouser shoes and long, dark-green pants, round spectacles sitting on his face. His eyes remained close, twitching ever so occasionally demonstrating signs of life. Though an empty black abyss. The sound of a door opening in the distance gained the attention of the floating man, causing him to open his eyes and attempt to look in the direction of the strange sound, only finding out that his movement is impaired in the weightless environment. Before he could try to attempt any longer, his body quickly flattened out from its free-floating position and into one of standing at attention, only less stiff. Turned around to face the sound, he was met with light green eyes and a blank expression from a man he knew all too well.

The man in front of him lowered his stance, letting the briefcase in his hand sit upon the black abyss as if there was a ground beneath him? He brought his hands up to his necktie, but to his surprise slightly loosened it instead of his usually tightening pattern. He let in a long breath,

"Ozpin, while not so much in this situation, one could say it is a pleasure to see you again..."

Ozpin narrowed his eyes towards the business man, his expression that of anger, one that he hardly ever shows. Before he could speak, the man spoke again.

"I must say, I'm rather displeased that after asking for my... assistance, you were not there to even greet the one who is providing the services... I thought you better than that Ozpin." The man snapped his fingers, and continued his movement to that of sitting down, though there was no chair. "Especially when he did so well, completing everything you asked for; from saving young Nikos, and... preventing fellow investors from acquiring your... well payment."

Ozpin's eyes widened in surprise. He only knew of one thing that the man in front of him would take; the power of the Spring Maiden, a power no one should have, especially him. He tried to open his mouth but was met with the inability to do so.

"Don't fret Ozpin. While I personally, have no need... for that, my employers have taken an interest in such things as of lately, seeing it as... a formidable energy source of such."

Ozpin could feel the anger seething from within him, this man was stressing something as important as this as nothing but a simple energy source in his eyes, yet here he could do nothing. No words, no expressions, just a vessel standing at attention... that is until his form leaned and he fell to his knees, grasping for air as if he felt a need to do so now. He brought his hand to his chest, it heaving heavily as he steadily gained his way back to his feet, struggling to do so. "You... You don't understand what forces you're dealing with..." His voice raspy as he spoke to the man in front of him.

The man's expression didn't change as he continued to stare at Ozpin. "I understand many things... and this is one of those many." He brought his hand in front of him and waved it slightly. Almost instantaneously, a tear in the empty abyss appeared, revealing an entirely different view to Ozpin. In front of him sat a strange... empty space. A green hue emanated from the entirety of the area, multiple islands floating in what looked to be space and various trees of sort sat upon them. Before Ozpin could take another step, it quickly disappeared almost as quickly as it appeared, causing Ozpin to take another step back before being sat down in the same manner as the man across from him on an invisible chair of sorts.

"Where... Where was that?"

"That... Ozpin is the home world of Xen, previously obtained by the very man who completed everything requested, Doctor Gordon... Freeman."

Ozpin squinted. While a doctor being a Hunter is of no surprise, his colleague being one, but from what he is hearing from the man, Freeman did so much more. "Who is this 'Gordon Freeman'?"

The man only shook his head. "That is where you are mistaken Ozpin, it is not my responsibility to introduce you to those who do such services, the clients are supposed to meet them, which you failed to do so."

Ozpin was beginning to tire of the man in front of him, his calm demeanor and simple responses reminding him of how he slightly acted to those around him, but this was very different from that. There was still the problem of the Maidens. "What are your plans with the future Maidens...?"

The man readjusted his tie, the same expression sitting on his face. "There is no need for future payments Ozpin, and what we plan to do with it exactly is still on the board... The rest is classified... company policy."

"I'm beginning to remember you... You've been here much longer than even I have been. If to even guess at this point, you even introduced yourself back then, your name an all."

The man kept the same expression as Ozpin spoke. "Yes," Ozpin's relaxed expression returned, he knew how to control this situation. "You have nothing here. While you speak of obtaining the Maiden's power, there is something higher than that, and through the natural course of life, you won't hold it forever... Ross Scott." The name seemed to resound through the abyss before the man in front of him let out what he had never thought he would see, a laugh, or rather a simple chuckle.

"I can promise you Ozpin... that whatever you think is right or wrong, there is always another answer that you'll never reach. While I remember you more of a... one who would think before they speak, I guess not everyone remembers who they really are, such in the case of that name."

Ozpin was taken back. The name that he clearly remembered was not the name of the man in front of him?

"That... title is something that belongs to someone much more influential at the current moment..." He drew in another long breath. "But enough of this simple conversation. I've been... arguing your current situation with my current employers. You're... failure is one of great disappointment, and while originally deemed to be... useless now, I thought something different."

The man's briefcase appeared next to Ozpin, open and revealing a folder labeled 'reassignment'.

"I pleaded in your... absence and convinced them that you staying on Remnant would remain a greater asset to fulfilling their contract as well. Your assistance to Doctor Freeman being one of the many factors that would change the difficulty involved in the given job... While they agreed, there of course were... penalties"

Ozpin stared at the man across from him, suspicion rising into a question.

"You're not him, whoever you are, you are missing a vital part of that monster that has done so much harm to Remnant."

The man stayed silent as Ozpin continued. "He never laxes himself, and appears only for a time, whereas you have stayed much longer, an attempt to act as a friend of sort."

The man sitting down suddenly disappeared, the suitcase in front of Ozpin disappearing as well. The area around Ozpin changed from the black abyss to the skies across Remnant. The face he was once staring at, appearing much large than before.

"My... employers gave a suggestion to attempt to 'articulate' a more... connected feeling to the one I am speaking towards."

The face still appearing as the scenery changed into that of a desolate, black wasteland with many black pools spread across multiple chasms.

"While futile, I realize that there is no reason in doing so now. A more... direct approach is what must be taken with... individuals like yourself." The scenery changed once again to that of a dark colored hall, windows lining the side. In the center of it all stood a figure, skin paler than the man's. Ozpin knew exactly who he was staring at now through the man's transparent face. The figure began to turn around but before the face could reveal itself, the black abyss returned and the two were standing in front of one another again.

"While I would have preferred your own decision in this matter... I have... taken the liberties of deciding on how to proceed in this time." He turned around and began to walk away, stopping as what looked to be a door opening up in front of him, green light emanating from it, blurring what lied beyond it. The man turned back around to face Ozpin, tightening his tie with his free hand. "Good luck... Mr..." He was suddenly cut off as the door shut with him in it, and a pair of hazel eyes opening up and looking at the ceiling of a barn.

As Gordon walked through the door, he could hear two very distinct voices arguing from across the room.

"I'm telling you, I don't know what the hell a Duck Capacitor even is!"

"It's not a 'Duck Capacitor' Calhoun, it's not even the Flux Capacitor; we have no need for that to begin with. I asked you to simply plug the relay into the transfer switch so we can clear up this image."

"That doesn't help me at all Doc, I see part A, B, and maybe sixteen other letters. What is what?"

The older sounding voice sighed. "Weren't you part of the maintenance team at Black Mesa?"

"I was a security guard, I stood around and did nothing. The time I tried to repair anything, the damn elevator collapsed!"

The bickering continued as Gordon and Qrow approached the television that now sat upon a table and was surrounded by chairs on one side. When they made their way to the chairs, the view was apparent to who was standing on the other side; to Gordon that is. An older man, practically balding at this point had his glasses sitting on the edge of his nose as he was glancing around the massive keyboard that sat in front of him, his old teacher and long-time friend, Doctor Isaac Kleiner. Below the doctor some legs could be seen, some slight movements later and a full man appeared behind the doctor. Another friend... moreover the idiotic one of the few that he had, Barney Calhoun, Ex-Black Mesa Security Guard.

Doctor Kleiner pushed the glasses back onto his face and looked at the screen, or rather out from the television and his eyes widened to that of a pool balls. "Dear God, Gordon, it's you!"

Gordon simply waved his hand as the Doctor smiled as he stared at his student. Behind him, Barney had his eye brows raised. "Really, it's him? Not the man standing right next to him with a massive sword on his back and some sort of strange red cape thing; could've fooled me." Kleiner turned around and stared at Barney, a stare visibly emanated from the older man.

"Shut up Barney."

The Ex-Security Guard through up his hands as he began to pace in to the background. Kleiner turned back around, a smile appearing on his face again. "Where have you been Gordon, it's been an entire year since you up a disappeared on us. You had us worried sick; especially Alyx, then again she also seemed extremely agitated as well."

This made Gordon take a step back. A whole year passed on Earth since he appeared here! He was surprised enough when five months passed since he was last seen here on Remnant, but he didn't even begin to imagine how much time had passed on Earth. Oh god. Gordon began to slightly panic. He remembered finding a pretty good fridge at the facility they were staying in, and he decided to put some amazing leftovers in there.

Before Gordon could think any more about his leftovers, Barney spoke up over Kleiner who seemed to be carrying on. "Listen Gordon, I know you're on another planet and there are probably more important things to worry about, but I know you hate it when people eat your stuff... and so I ate your leftovers."

Everyone went silent, their stares directed towards Barney who in turn only shrugged his shoulders. On impulse, everyone in the room said, "Shut up Barny." The man only throwing up his hands and walking into the background once more.

"Now to get back on track, Barney tells me that you're located on an entirely different planet. Is that correct Gordon?" He nodded his head in agreement. There's something Barney got correct at least.

Kleiner held his hand to his chin and thought to himself before speaking again. "Eureka! I've got. Gordon, go over to your suit and find a switch located on the back. Before you returned the first time, I implemented an upgraded homing beacon to it. If my theory serves correct, which does most of the time, I should be able to pick up a trace of it at least since we were able to make contact with you through using the super computer, the exact thing we didn't have the second time we lost you after the Citadel exploded."

Qrow turned to Gordon and pulled him to his attention. "You brought down and entire tower?"

Kleiner spoke up once more. "It was more to a monumental achievement in the eyes of the resistance. The massive structure collapsing in on itself. Even with my own eyes, it could be seen miles away."

Qrow looked back at Gordon and nodded his head while smiling. "Pretty good 'Mr. Scientist', pretty good." He let his hand fall of Gordon's shoulder and back to his side.

'You're damn right it. It was better than 'pretty good', more like 'the most impressive thing ever'. Gordon gloated to himself. He smiled as he turned back the Televison where the Doctor was still carrying on.

"After turning it on, and proceeding to map the area of the planet of Remnant; it should automatically create a map that will be transferred over here electronically and from the data received it should also give a geographical map of the materials placed around the planet, and hopefully they should almost mirror them exactly. I'll have to explain more from that point forward though."

Gordon began to walk over to the suit while mumbling to himself. 'Not even working at Black Mesa anymore and still all I ever do is push buttons and pull levers. Maybe Barney was right, my degree is really paying for itself now.' He went around the back and flipped open a cover that read EOC, below it saying 'Emergency Oxygen Controls'. Inside was a large red button. Without thinking, he pressed his finger against it, a green light appearing above it...Gordon quickly flipped the cover back down and realized that what he was looking at was not Oxygen controls at all. This clearly meant that either there was never an Emergency Oxygen system to begin with, or that the Doctor removed it. He sighed as he began to walk away from the suit, the action complete...

Wait, map the entire planet? That would mean Gordon would have to physically walk his way around what sounds to be like the entire planet, and that would only be the first step of what he would need to do to get back home. The walking part would be the literal worst, and from what he remembered, there are mystical beasts of darkness, or the so-called Grimm that are everywhere. That means there would be fighting, and while he didn't mind bashing heads in with his crowbar, he only did that because it was necessary at the time and that he was also being shot at. He mentally sighed as he turned his attention back to Kleiner.

"While Gordon is fully capable of handling himself, from what it sounds like he'll need someone to guide him where he needs to go; no offense Gordon but this world sounds much harsher than our own when it comes to the wildlife."

Wait once more. How much is he just mentally blocking out at this point, and what did he mean by guide?

The people in the room turned and looked towards Qrow, who only began to walk away until Glynda spoke up. "While you may not wish to Qrow seeing on how you work alone, you are possibly the best option for Doctor Freeman in this situation, especially since he doesn't have an Aura."

"Aura?" Kleiner questioned.

Gordon spoke up this time. "Some sort of spiritual energy that they supposedly possess and allows them to perform extraordinary acts and such, even sometimes granting them some sort of 'power'." Gordon made quotation marks with his hands at the word 'power'.

Kleiner sat down in the chair and put his hand up to his chin again. "Interesting. Don't doubt this ability of 'Aura' Gordon. While we may not have it ourselves, it may possibly be a unique gene to those upon Remnant. You can never doubt the unknown, especially in your situation. I take it everyone on your world has this so called 'Aura'?"

Glynda nodded her head. "While not everyone has immediate access to it, there are schools that train those to unlock it and use it to become Hunters; those that combat the Grimm and protect the many settlements and much more across Remnant."

Barney ran up next to Kleiner, stars in his eyes. "People with super powers and schools that train kids to understand and use those powers? It's like something from one of my Japanese animes!"

Everyone once again put their attention onto Barney who only returned the look with confusion. "Alright, it seems like I'm clearly not wanted here."

"You'd be fine Calhoun if you attributed something useful to this situation, but that moment has yet to come!"

Gordon began to trail off into his own thoughts again as the two of them began to bicker like a married couple.

While he certainly remembered school, he wondered what it would have been like if he had to go to some sort of combat class as well every day, learning how to fight with his new-found powers. The more he thought about it, the more he could actually agree with Barney on how the premise of this entire thing did seem like those shows he would watch in his off time. While not Gordon's cup of tea, there were some interesting aspects to it, such as the massive robots that would battle. It was a nice little breakoff from his interest in action movies and such.

As he continued to think to himself, he only caught small bits of what was going on in the conversation in front of him such as 'working as a team' and 'acting as a baby sitter'. The last thing he wanted to do was watch a bunch of super powered kids try to assist him in saving the world. While saving it was his specialty, working with others often got them killed, then followed by a horrible feeling that their deaths were his fault to begin with. Gordon figured this was going to happen and so he began to think of how to deny their plan in general.

'Ok, I'm tired of this 'saving the world thing', I just wanted to do science things to begin with. I just want to retire at this point.'

Gordon nodded at his simplistic idea to deny their request. He turned around and opened his mouth. "Ok..."

Gordon stopped as the those in front of him and on the television screen were staring at him with wide eyes. A smile came across their faces as well after his eyes trailed between theirs. "What?"

Qrow was the first to walk up to him, placing his hand on his shoulder. "You're a trooper Gordon you know that, I wish ya the best of luck." He took a step back.

Gordon was extremely confused at this point. Why were they so happy? He was about to deny them their request to help them?

"Wow Gordon, I knew it was almost natural for you to do these kind of things, but we weren't even finished with the entire situation and you already agreed to do it. You really are the one 'Free Man'." The Ex-Security Guard let out a laugh while walking off screen.

Gordon was more confused than ever at this point. They weren't even giving him a single moment to say anything. He didn't want to help in any plan, he didn't want to do anything!

"Excellent Gordon, I knew you would do it. Before we leave, I want to send you something." The older man walked off the screen and came back holding a hand-held device that glowed light blue. "This right here is new proto-type for your suit. I figured since you're in an entirely different world, the access to suit chargers is almost non-existent, now is better than ever. This right here is the Solar-Powered suit energy converter! It runs entirely off sunlight clearly, and is coated in a dense alloy that will protect it from even the strongest gunshots; Barney tested and approved."

He heard his friend shout from off screen. "I wore it as a vest for a week!"

The old man chuckled. "Yes, he did... I've already taken the liberties on programming the teleporter here to send it to you. Before you ask, I'm afraid we can't send anything larger than this to you. Since it's an uncharted world, the possibilities are unknown on what could happen to anything bigger than this."

Gordon was still confused. Just what did he agree too?

"My best estimates is that while our usual teleportation's we've tested before, we're unsure on how long it will take to arrive to your current position. Hopefully it'll be quick." Kleiner tapped on the keyboard in front of him before flicking thumbs up to what Gordon figured to be Barney. A large electrical stream shot the ground a few yards behind the Doctor before a bright flash covered the room. After it settled, Kleiner was still standing in front of the keyboard, but what appeared now was a slightly burnt Barney walking from one side of the screen to the other. "Is it there Gordon?"

Gordon turned around and glanced around the room. No glowing blue thing anywhere in sight. He turned back around and shook his head, earning a sigh from the Doctor. "That's quite alright. Since we haven't even tested it before now, I, surprisingly enough, thought we would get lucky for once."

This earned a slight chuckled from Qrow who was sitting in one of the chairs.

"I'm not sure on when it will arrive Gordon, but when it does, it'll be very near to you if you're wearing the suit since we decided to use it as an anchor point in that world." A new voice shouted from off screen. "Kleiner, we've got to go!" The Doctor turned his head in the direction of the voice.

"Aylx come here, you're not going to believe who Barney found!"

The voice now known as Alyx's spoke up again. "We don't have time right now, Doctor! You'll have to show me when we get back, but now is not the time!"

Kleiner turned his head back to the screen while smiling. "It's good to see you again Gordon. Good luck on your ventures." The older man ran off the screen which was then followed by the slam of a door.

The three remaining in the room glanced at one another before Gordon decided to speak up. "Is... is it just going to stay on?"

Qrow walked over to the television and held up the power cord, showing that it was indeed unplugged. The man shrugged his shoulders as he walked off drinking out of his flask. Gordon turned his attention to Glynda who was also staring at Qrow as he walked off before turning her attention to him. "Well then, there is many things that I should catch you up on then, but before that, let me introduce you to the team you'll be traveling with for your time one Remnant."

 **Heyo, I hope everyone enjoyed what you read here, and I must apologize once again for not having this out earlier, or rather if this chapter just seems rather rushed, well, because it was. I've been rather busy as of lately with the holidays and work overloading me, as well as getting accepted to school, which by the way starts the 20** **th** **of Feb. After that the updates will be rather random since my school schedule will tie me more than a double fisherman's knot. Besides that, I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas, and see you next time.**


	7. A Modern Major General

**Happy New Year's everyone. I hope you enjoyed it, I slept through any celebrations that I could have been a part of. This new keyboard of mine is still driving me crazy whenever I write, seeing on how it gives a completely different feeling than what my laptop had. Besides that, I can't say that I'll release another chapter as fast as I did this one, maybe longer than two weeks to be honest, I'm not entirely sure. Until then though, for those that do have questions, I suppose I can answer them, or just reply to those who commented.**

 _Guest #1:_ **Please tell me you haven't been doing so for more than three days?**

 _Fedora101:_ **Thanks, comments like those are the most helpful to me.**

 _Guest #2:_ **Freeman's mind is about 50% of Gordon's current noggin, the other half is our wonderful, quiet, scientist Gordon who doesn't scream profanities and actually cares about other people before himself.**

 _Guest #3:_ **'Current Employers'. Think of him being 'loaned out' to others.**

 **I don't own nothin... yeah.**

Branches, more branches, and even more branches smacked against his suit; the orange hue from the gravity gun alongside his suits flashlight being the only light illuminating the area around him alongside the night sky. Gordon's eyes stayed focused in front of him as he continued to run through the dense forest as fast as he could. Occasionally he would catch a glimpse of a Grimm here and there, but he would run past it in the sight of his current objective, but because of that, he could hear the many trampling footsteps behind him. The sounds staying the same, telling Gordon that he was keeping the same distance from them the entire time, and that there was neither any gain nor decrease in their distance between one another. Gordon breathed heavily as he ran, his endurance having not failed him; to his surprise.

'It's not the magic Gordon, there's no such thing; you're just used to it at this point...' Gordon thought to himself as another branch nearly collided with his face before he ducked and continued running forward. While getting used to running away from danger is not what he considered he'd end up getting used to, he did enjoy the qualities of it and not dying from not being able to run long distances. As the denseness of the branches began to clear up, he thought to himself again.

'Lessening of these damn things means I'm near the town, right? We saw a fire from atop the cliff, but there's no light unless...' Gordon squinted his eyes in an attempt to get a clearer look in front of him, to his dismay a much worse fate lay ahead of him. "Oh, come on, not now, not here!" Gordon shouted as the trees around him began to fade away and the ground in front of him began to expand into a flat area, which led to a straight drop and into a large chasm that was laid ahead of him.

He began to shoot glances to each side of him, each view disappointing him even more than the last. Vast amounts of Beowolves ran alongside him, matching his speed as they began to close in on him on each side, the ones behind him still keeping the same pace. Gordon ducked his head and began to go into a full sprint, his focus now directly on the chasm in front of him. He already planned it out in his head, with enough momentum and the jump module, he could cover a large enough portion of the gap before losing current height and began the descent into whatever lied below, and to ensure his survival, he would just hook himself to the opposite wall with his crowbar, which he now had in his other hand after pulling it from the holster on his leg. The gravity gun still banging against his back with each stride he took towards the chasm.

The voice in the back of his head screaming at him now. 'You've got to be kidding me! We're doing this, oh god, I DON'T WANT TO DIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIEEEEEEEEEEEEE!'

Gordons foot left the ground as he leapt into the chasm in front of him activating the jump module, and propelling him forward a feminine voice following him.

 _Power-assisted movement detected_

Before he could even think about what lied in front of him, an unknown factor came into existence. A Beowolf sped up to him before he jumped and followed suit behind him, creating more problems than Gordon would like to be dealing with. He attempted to reach behind him to grab ahold of the beast, but was gifted with his arms being tighten beside himself, and put into a grasp by the Beowolf. He could hear the snarling of the beast as it attempted to gnaw on his suit. To its dismay, instead of the flesh that laid beneath, it was greeted with a large beep and a woman's voice.

 _Major Lacerations Detected_

'I know he's biting me you damn suit!'

Before the Beowolf could continue its gnawing, Gordon managed to release himself from the beasts grasp and flip himself around along with his gravity gun, pointed directly at the chest of the Beowolf. The two seemed to share a glance before Gordon smiled.

"Hasta la Vista baby"

Gordon slammed his finger on the red button, charging the gun almost instantly, flinging the beast far away from him and into the stone wall, cratering itself into it. He smiled, and immediately realized that he was indeed still falling and in a completely different trajectory. His smile faded and he glanced around for anything that he could use to save himself from his inevitable demise as red paste on the ground. In the corner of his eye he spotted a large boulder that sat loosely on a small ledge on the opposite edge of the chasm. He quickly glanced behind him and realized there was a ledge awaiting his impact, but only if launched a certain direction.

'This is going to hurt so badly.'

He pressed the button again and activated the gravity guns function to attract objects, sending the boulder towards himself. Before it reached the gravitational distance of the gun, Gordon deactivated the attracter, allowing the boulder to continue its directory directly towards him. He let go of the gravity gun and put up his arms in an attempt to lessen the impact upon his frame.

The boulder collided with Gordon, effectively sending him flying into the opposite side of the chasm and into the wall, before he slid out of the small crater and onto the ledge he set his sights upon. He collapsed onto the stone ledge, his body spread out on its front. A grunt escaping from his mouth as Gordon continued to lie there, the suits voice speaking again.

 _Major fracture detected_

 _Internal bleeding detected_

 _Automatic medical system engaged_

 _Morphine administered_

Gordon could feel everything ever at the current moment. A slight amount a blood escaping from his lips. 'So, this is what it feels like to be hit with an assortment of random objects at a high velocity... it sucks.' He could somewhat feel sorry for those he shot at with the gravity gun, but only the slightest amount. They did deserve it, and it was only out of self-defense.

Gordon could hear the snarling of the Grimm that still sat perched on the other side of the chasm, along with the occasional scamper as a few attempted to jump towards him, only to be met with the demise of turning into... black paste?

He shook off the though as he began to crawl upwards, using the chasm wall as support. He could feel the morphine beginning to take effect, the pain he once felt floating away into a feeling of restfulness. Gordon glared up at the Grimm still on the cliffside and his eyes widened at the sight. While he knew that he was being chase by a good amount, he didn't realize that what lied before him could be comparable to that of an army. Hundreds lined the cliffside, their snarling teeth and white plating adorning each and every one of them. That's when it dawned on Gordon as he remembered what Qrow said.

'Grimm are attracted to negativity, just keep it at a low would ya?'

It was almost as if Qrow knew that at least fifty-percent of Gordon's thoughts were negative, almost all the time. He smacked his forehead with his palm. No wonder he wasn't getting a break, the whole damn time he was running he was thinking about anything that he'd done and how much he'd fucked up. Gordon sighed as he leaned on the wall.

'Can't even be myself in this damn world; stupid 'negativity controls the Grimm' rules.'

He pulled himself off the wall and pulled out his crowbar once again. He turned towards the cavern wall and glanced upwards before sighing once again. It seemed as if was endless as he stared upwards. Gordon sighed again as he planted his crowbar into the stone and began his ascent while mumbling to himself.

'Stupid ass beasts of nature, not even real animals. Last time I checked, if something was alive and real, you could kill it and dissect it, but nooooo, not the 'Grimm'. We're just going to have some stupid fantasy animal that turns into black mist after its dead, and guess what,' He shouted towards the Grimm on the other side of the chasm, "WE'RE ATTRACTED TO NEGATIVTY!" He stopped climbing for a second as he glanced downwards before instantly turning his attention upwards once more before continuing his rambles. 'It's not that far down Gordon, just far enough that if you mess up even the slightest you'll be able to enjoy a nice fall into what I'd like to call 'Stone Haven', a place where all stones like to relax as they're covered in your blood... I've really got to lighten up the mood.'

Gordon finally reached the top of the cliffside and climbed his way onto it, standing up and sliding the crowbar back into its holster.

'I've got an idea, let's just sing a good ol' song, just like the one back when we were getting shot at the first time at Black Mesa.'

Gordon took another step as a Beowolf lunged from a bush in front of him. He quickly brought his foot up to its face before swinging the gravity gun in front of him again and blasting it away.

 _"I am the very model of a modern Major-General,_

 _I've information vegetable, animal, and mineral,_

 _I know the kings of England, and I quote the fights historical,_

 _From Marathon to Waterloo, in order categorical;_

 _I'm very well acquainted too with matters mathematical,_

 _I understand equations, both the simple and quadratical,_

 _About binomial theorem I'm teeming with a lot o' news_

 _With many cheerful facts about the square of the hypotenuse."_

Gordon gravitated a log in front of him as three Beowolfs lunged towards him, blocking them as their bodies collided with the log, only to be sent flying along with it into another large group of Grimm appearing from the forest.

 _"I'm very good at integral and differential calculus,_

 _I know the scientific names of beings animalculous;_

 _In short, in matters vegetable, animal, and mineral,_

 _I am the very model of a modern Major-General._

 _I know our mythic history, King Arthur's and Sir Caradoc's,_

 _I answer hard acrostics, I've a pretty taste for paradox,_

 _I quote in elegiacs all the crimes of Heliogabalus,_

 _In conics I can floor peculiarities parablous."_

He let the gravity gun fall to his side as he pulled out the crowbar once again. A larger, more plated Grimm came charging towards him. Gordon ducked under its initial dive towards him as he rolled underneath it. It slid on the ground and began its pursuit after him. When it reached him, it swung out its arm, only for him to duck underneath it once again, except slamming his crowbar into the chin of the beast, sending it into the air for a second before falling to the ground.

 _"I can fire at a target and hit it at least half the time_

 _Or graph out an electron path while using only numbers prime_

 _I calculate the fall rate of a bullet shot a thousand yards_

 _And perforate the thick heads of a hundred military guards."_

Before it could stand back up, Gordon climbed atop of it and began to bash its head in with his crowbar. Each swing caving in the beast's head into the ground ever more. He finally let up when the black mist began to float up past him. He could hear more Grimm approaching as he continued to sing.

 _"I can make a simulation of an atom bomb and build one too_

 _Or flank a dozen men and ambush ten of them out of the blue_

 _From SMGs to RPGs I carry quite an arsenal_

 _And skip around a warzone like a subatomic particle"_

He got a glance at the incoming horde that laid before him. With a gravity gun at his side and a crowbar in hand, he ran towards the murderous mass.

 _"Every soldier out here wants to kill me for my curiosity_

 _I wage war on the whole damn world because of my tenacity_

 _In matters combat tactical and physics theoretical I am the very model of a modern major general!"_

Gordon whipped out the gravity gun once again, pointing it at a tree, he pressed the button. Though there was slight resistance at first, the gravitational pull eventually ripped the tree from the ground. Gordon smiled as he brought it up in front of him and fired, sending the tumbling mass into the crowd in front of him. Before they could react, Gordon had already used his long jump module to gain a metaphorical ride upon the launching tree and rode it gloriously into the black mass with his crowbar raised high and a scream that would rival even the mightiest of Vikings.

"ODIN OWNS YOU ALL!"

 _ **"Minutes" later**_

 _Vital signs critical_

 _Seek medical attention_

Gordon leaned against the tree while holding his side with his free hand and let his crowbar dangle in the other. "I hate you all so much..."

The smell of smoke found its way into his nostrils and his face scrunched at the smell. Even though Gordon had spent so much time around smoke already, he hated it. He adjusted his glasses as his eyes followed what he guessed to be the direction of the smell and noticed that the town he was wanting to make his way towards had been this close all along. With a sigh, he rolled off the tree and began to make his in that direction.

He could feel his footsteps becoming heavier with each step, yet at the same time he could feel what felt like to be an absurd amount of morphine flowing through his veins at the current moment. As he made his way closer to the town, he noticed a familiar figure standing in the center, a red cloak and large scythe standing out from their surroundings. Around her stood three other figures, a blonde knight, a pink hair grenadier, and a black haired stereotypical Asian... Was there an Asian like country on this world? Last time he checked, he only got a rundown on the weird alien creatures. Gordon immediately got a thought that reminded him of Black Mesa and those aliens, 'Maybe that's what I've been dealing with today. What I've been calling aliens, are really _demons_. Not that they can't be both, like how every square is a rectangle, but not vice-versa. He couldn't deny that he at least attempted to mettle with the Dark Powers.' Gordon shook his head. He should have just remembered the others names, yet Ruby's was the only one he could remember the easiest one out of them all in his opinion. Colors are always simple.

As he made his way out of the tree line and towards the group, he felt the pain subsiding and he was able to walk up straight. When he got closer their attention was drawn towards him, all sharing looks of surprise. The first one to speak up was Ruby.

"Dr. Freeman! Where have you been? It was a straight run from where we split up? It's been nearly an hour since then."

Gordon stared at her as he squinted his eyes, before rubbing his temple and sighing. "I... I don't even know. After you hitched a ride on that bird, I just started running... Next thing you know I'm at a chasm..."

"Wait." The Asian child spoke up. "The nearest chasm is miles from here, northwest to be exact. That was in the exact opposite direction you and Ruby were coming from. How did you get that lost?"

Gordon stared at the child before speaking. "Listen..." He paused, not remembering his name.

"Ren. Lie Ren."

"Right... Ren. When you've been outside for as long as I have, you don't know where you are. While I would love to explain where I've been at for the last hour, don't we have more important things to attend too." Gordon gestured with his hands to the now smoking town around him.

The blonde knight spoke up. "The Doctor is right, we need to finish up here, right Ruby?"

The cloaked girl nodded her head as did the others. They looked towards Gordon, and all he did was gesture with his hands once again, finger gunning towards them, before shrugging. As they four began to walk off, Gordon could only sigh and wonder how he got dragged into all of this again.

 **Days Before**

Gordon and Glynda took a step outside and to their left was standing group four children and an adult around in a circle, staring at what Gordon remembered to be the crater he left in the ground. He could spot two of the ones he could remember, Ruby, the short, scythe welding child. Then there was the blonde adult, which he still knew nothing of. If anything, he could say that he somewhat resembled the appearance of the girl without an arm...

He shook away the thought as he made his way to the group alongside Glynda. She called out what he assumed to be the adult.

"Taiyang, I take it you finished what you set out to do?"

The man, now known as Taiyang, turned around to face the duo. "Finish what I... I just stepped out to let you do what you needed to do. I ended up helping out the kids and I come back to find this?!" He gestured to the crater in the ground. "What is this and why is it in front of my house?" He shot a glanced towards Gordon, which he only returned with a simple shrug.

"It was probably Qrow." He turned to Ruby and rubbed her head. "I'm going to go have a talk with your Uncle. You kids behave, Glynda's here." He chuckled slightly as he walked past them and into the house.

While Gordon did feel slightly guilty, it wasn't necessarily his fault. He didn't know that he could create people sized craters in the ground with his crowbar now; he couldn't do it before. The children walked up to the duo, Ruby waving at Gordon and having one returned sheepishly.

Glynda gestured with her hands to Gordon. "Here is Doctor Gordon Freeman. Though you've only met him slightly, you can thank him as you already known he is your teammates rescuer." She turned to Gordon. "I assume you've already met Miss Rose by this point, leader of Team RWBY. The young man right there is Jaune Arc, leader of team JNPR. Beside him is Nora Valkyrie, and alongside him Lie Ren. All former Beacon students."

Gordon slipped into thought again as he stared at the children and began to think over the words he just heard. 'Ruby, is the leader of team... RWBY. Jaune Arc... not Joan of Arc, well that would make sense since he's not a woman... I think. Nora Valkyrie... that's some Norse stuff right there, I bet she's been stuck by lighting one to many times; and Lie Ren... That's some Chinese deeper meaning stuff behind that name. I'm not going through Highschool English all over again to dig into that. And what's up with all these colors? I swear I've seen a rainbow at least twice just by looking at people, not even the sky! I bet for Ruby's team, there's someone who's at least associated with those letters, like black, white and yellow. I bet the girl in the house is on her team, if not, I will be severely disappointed in whoever decided these teams."

When he shook out of his thinking, Ren was bowing in a matter of greeting, in which Gordon was confused. Were they greeting him as he was lost in thought again? He acted on impulse again and just waved his hand to the four while smiling. Glynda spoke up again after sighing after looking at Gordon.

"Dr. Freeman here will be joining you on your way to Haven, located in Mistral. While not a Huntsman, he is more than capable at defending himself. Focus on the task at hand as Dr. Freeman has his own, if either require assistance," She shot glances between the five. "Please make it clear as when you leave, it will only be the five of you out there." While Gordon was about to comment on the whole 'working as a team' aspect of this 'adventure' they were about to have, a reoccurring thought came back to him.

"Wasn't there a package here for me?"

All attention turned to Gordon as he stated his question rather loudly instead of inside his head as he normally did. He took a sudden step back after seeing all the glances on him, surprised at the amount he was getting. Before he could say anything, Glynda spoke up again.

"Yes, a strange man in a suit stopped by and had us sign two packages in fact. One containing those clothes you're wearing now, as for the other one, it was clearly marked to only be opened by your hands."

Gordon squinted his eyes as he stared at Glynda whilst thinking to himself after relaxing his gaze. 'Is everyone just this happy-go-lucky here? Just taking random packages in the middle of the forest? Thank God you don't work with anything science related, that would just spell disaster.'

Gordon was pretty sure she said something as she gestured the five of them to follow her inside the house. As rude as it might seem, he just wasn't listening at this point. Every second he's spent not getting shot at while not on Earth, he's gotten more confused than ever. He followed suit as the children walked in front of him. After walking through the door, he saw the blonde older man lifting the package onto the table, with some struggle at that. Their attention turned to the group that was now entering the household.

"Gordon! What did you order? This thing seems to be way heavier than it looks."

Taiyang said with a sweaty face after letting the package fall onto the table, a slight crack earning their attention in hopes that it wouldn't brake. Gordon shrugged again. He didn't have a clue what was within the package, only having an idea of who brought it here. The two took a step back and Qrow gestured to it.

"Come on Mr. Scientist. Open her up; your hands only." He patted the box.

Gordon approached the box cautiously, slowly letting his hands wrap around it. He hesitated in picking it up, seeing Taiyang somewhat struggle with placing it on the table. To his surprise, he lifted the package with minimal effort, still noticing that there was indeed a slight weight to it. Placing it back onto the table, he held out his hand, motioning for someone to hand him a knife of sorts. He glanced over to those standing and spoke. "A knife please..." He gestured to the box. "I can't open it with my bar hands."

Ruby seemed to be surprised by this notion and what seemed to be like an instant to Gordon, she disappeared and reappeared in a flash, a knife in hand, motioning it towards him. He drew his hand back for a second. While he understood her intentions, people, children especially, should never run with knives. He reached back out and took ahold of it, then soon using it to open the box and reveal its contents. Gordon stared at it for a few seconds, thoroughly surprised at what he was looking at. While he did so, he noticed the others were beginning to crowed around him. In an effort to stop that from happening, he picked up the object and held it in his hands whilst turning around to face the others.

In his hands was the very tool he arrived here with, and destroyed in some cataclysmic action to fight a magic fire witch... He couldn't even believe he said that at this point. The point was, it that the very gravity gun that he had been through so much with, just like his crowbar; its body strap and all, nothing changed about it. Those around him gave different reactions. Ruby, being the one who gave the most excited response.

"Is that your weapon!? It looks the exactly the same, except for the color, as that night. I was so confused when you arrived without it. Oh, can you show us how it works, pleaseeeeee."

He leaned away slightly while looking at her. Why did she care so much, or rather show so much interest in 'his' gravity gun? While he wasn't that worried about losing it, he did worry about just using his crowbar from this point forward, so he guessed there wouldn't be any harm in having it once again.

"I'd... I'd rather not. It's not a weapon. It's used for... 'heavy lifting'."

This earned questionable glances from everyone in the room. He wasn't necessarily wrong in what he said. The gravity gun 'was' used to use heavy objects when it was first created, now, he just uses it to 'remove obstacles' out from in front of him... in a rather deadly way.

"Let's not worry about this. I thought I saw something else in the box." Gordon set the gravity gun back onto the table, making a sizeable thud alongside it. He glanced at it again, realizing that it might be heavier than what he actually feels from it. Pushing it aside, he glanced inside the box to notice another small box that had a familiar yellow symbol upon it, and a sticky note on top of that. He could feel a bead of sweat drop down his face as he read the sticky note.

 _'_ _I just can't bring myself to use it on a living creature. You don't seem to have trouble killing things.'_

Gordon quickly shut the box and turned to Taiyang while holding it. "Do you have somewhere where I can hide this for a _very long time."_

Taiyang gave Gordon a glance before nodding his head. "We do, but..."

Before he could finish he shoved the box into his arms and walked back over to the table, placing his hands upon it. Qrow walked up to him and placed a hand on his shoulder.

"What's wrong Gordon? You seem a little anxious."

Gordon turned to him, sliding his glasses back onto his nose completely. "This is going to be a long, loooong walk."

 **Hey, would you look at that, it's the end; for now, that is. Not much to say here; I hope you enjoyed it, see you next time, oh, and while I can't say that Shepard will be coming in the next few chapters, he most definitely is coming up though. Look forward to it. Bye Bye.**


	8. The Holy Hand Grenade, and More

**Believe it or not, I was thinking of starving you readers of another chapter, before I decided not to. I'm a terrible person for even think of such of thing, but nothing much besides responding to your wonderful people.**

 **I guess in a sense to all of you, yes, Gordon has the absolute worst luck to getting into trouble he doesn't even start. There will be plenty more coming, trust me, the one Freeman will never get a break.**

Running. Gordon was getting extremely tired of running, or rather running away at this point. The physical exhaustion wasn't it, it was the actual act or running that he was getting tired of. His gravity gun was a weight of itself and the constant bouncing of it began to tie into his actual running pattern and having to compensate for the offset.

"Doctor, on your left!"

He quickly dove to his right, missing the large boulder about to crush him beneath it. Lifting himself off the ground, he noticed that had also gained the habit of never losing his glasses unless water was involved. Before he could think on it anymore, the voice shouted at him again.

"We're almost there, just right ahead of this!"

Gordon quickly began running again, noticing a light begin to appear in the trees.

"Jump!"

Jump, what did she mean by jump? Before he could question what, she meant, he broke through the tree line and immediately noticed what she was speaking off. Right in front of him was no longer solid ground, and instead was emptiness that sat in front of him and a roof of trees below him. He glanced upward and noticed the figure shouting at him, Ruby, flying through the sky as she fired shots from her massive weapon at the monster that lied behind them. He sent one quick glance behind him as the two of them began to fall downward, and the sight he saw reminded him of how he never wanted to act as bait ever again. A massive boulder-type of Grimm was hot on their tracks, and quite literally tearing through the trees with its massive boulder like arms to chase after them. After a second of staring, the Grimm followed suit just as Gordon did, falling off the cliff.

He could hear Ruby yelling as she was falling, something about getting a landing strategy, something Gordon quickly understood that he need as well, but before he could, large branches began to brake his fall as he slammed into the repetitive branches, each one hurting more than the one before.

"Pain. Is. Not. Gain. In. Fact. It. Hurts. Just. More!"

He finished his thought the moment he impacted the ground, the suit sending out the feminine voice.

 _Major fracture detected_

 _Automatic medical system engaged_

 _Morphine administered._

The pain in his body soon began to disappear as the drug spread its way through his body. He glanced slightly downward to read his current stats.

'Still sitting at one-hundred shield my ass. The sixty health seems about right.'

Before he could continue his thought, the ground shook with great force, and Gordon could only sigh as he slowly made his way back to his feet.

'Goddam stone monster causing more problems than it's worth!' He hit the ground with his fist before standing back up completely, right before the trees in front of him were immediately swiped away and his eyes following the boulder arm as it chased a red stream of roses.

'I swear, at this point I'm pretty sure I'm 'stone-cold sober'.' He glanced around as he smiled, losing it quickly as he noticed what was going on behind him. The massive stone Grimm was swinging wildly as Ruby flew around it... somehow. Gordon still had no idea on how the hell she was able to turn into a stream of roses and somehow go faster, it just didn't make even the slightest bit of sense. He caught the other members of their hunting party on the other side of the stone monster, each of them splitting up, rather Ren, and Nora making their way into the trees above them as Jaune began making his way over to him. He could hear Ruby yelling over her constant shots from her weapon.

"Could use some help!"

Gordon let his eyes go back to the ones back in the tree. Ren having disappeared, and Nora launching out her pink colored grenades at the monster. Upon impact, pink smoke erupting from its back. He could now see Ren running from tree limb to tree limb, firing shots from his much smaller weapon at the monster. He turned his attention to Jaune who was now right next to him and speaking towards him.

"Are you alright Doctor?"

He nodded his head while mentally yelling at him. 'Do I look like I'm okay? I don't normally fall over fifty-feet and land face first on a daily basis thank you very much.'

"Good, we need a plan, and one fast."

Gordon turned his head and tilted it as the two shared a glance. "Are you not the strategist?"

Silence stood between the two before a puff of dust kicked up to their side, revealing a Ren, standing at a ready. Jaune quickly spoke up, his hands running through his hair.

"We gotta get in closer!"

Ren responding to him. "My blades don't hurt him!"

Gordon pondered that phrase for a second. 'Metal blades not being effective against a giant stone monster, huh, such a wonder. Why didn't we notice that sooner?'

Their eyes turned back to the massive stone monster as it turned in their direction, different expressions appearing on their faces. Worry on Jaune's, steadiness on Ren's, and, not to his surprise, Gordon was sure he had the same expression as always, none. He just was done already. A shouting Ruby from across the other side of the opening caught his attention.

"How about THIS!" She reached behind her, and loaded another magazine into her now rifle. She turned into a flurry of petals before appearing in front of the monster, aiming her weapon, and firing what looked to be an electric bolt of sorts, impacting it right upon its right appendage. Though from the looks of it, it seemed unfazed by the shocking feeling.

Gordon only sighed as he let his hand impact his face. 'Stone doesn't conduct electricity Ruby. I always ask this question, but am I working with complete idiots or am I really that much of a genius.'

The monster raised the once shocked appendage and slammed it down into the ground, sending a massive shockwave towards the five. After attempting to resist the immense force pushing them back, the force took hold of them and sent them flying back and through the air.

Gordon took a slight tumble before crashing his back into a tree, the other three landing in a much better fashion, except for Jaune that is. Gordon could only look away, there's a pain between men that is shared, no matter how it happens or why. As they made their way back up, he noticed Nora running towards the monster, tossing her once grenade launcher weapon into the air, only for it to transform into that of a hammer. She continued running towards the monster before launching herself into the air, the stone appendage doing the same as it launched itself towards her, the hammer colliding and sending the stone pieces sending in every direction.

Gordon silently cheered until he saw the stone coming back to the monster, as if it was magnetic, and after spinning around, the appendage that was once knocked off came flying towards the pink-headed bomber. Before it could impact her, Ruby jumped in front and sliced the stone in half, shattering it and sending the remaining pieces flying.

'I guess a giant metal scythe will work, but not small metal blades. Such a wonder.'

He immediately ducked his head as stones flew by him, and without having to even turn around, he knew a certain someone took a stone too one's face.

Gordon turned his attention away from the stone monster, for he noticed something was gone. When he looked to his side, he noticed that the gravity gun that he normally had on him was indeed missing. As he continued to glance around for it, a felt a familiar sensation as the ground shook and when he turned back around he saw three things that he really didn't want to see. The first being that the stone monster now had a massive tree limb for an appendage, the second being that the said appendage was on fire and was being swung at those around it. Lastly was possibly the worst thing that could be for Gordon, in between the legs of the monster lay his gravity gun, somehow not being stepped on even through the monster's erratic movements.

Gordon sighed as he began to think of such a crazy idea on how to get his weapon back. 'I think I get the schist of this situation, I'm stuck between a rock and a hard place aren't I.' He began to sprint towards the monster while yelling. "No more Mister Gneiss guy you damn boulder beast!"

The stone Grimm turned its attention away from the other four as it focused on Gordon who was now running directly for it. He could hear the shouts of the others as he ran towards his weapon.

"Doctor, what are you doing!?"

"Doctor stop!"

Gordon did not stop as he slid underneath the swing of the flaming branch, the feeling of heat almost burning Gordon for how close his unprotected face was. He rolled out the slide and slung the gravity's gun strap around his hand and hefted it up and around his shoulder before continuing his run before being flung to the side, the massive stone appendage slamming into him and sending him flying.

'SHIIIIIIIIIIIIT!'

Even through the air, he could hear the suits voice speak.

 _Major fracture detected_

 _Internal bleeding detected_

 _Automatic medical system engaged_

 _Morphine administered_

Before Gordon could even begin to brace himself, all went black as a large pain emanated from the back of his head.

After what seemed to be Gordon to be only seconds, his eyes flickered open, and the taste of blood sat in his mouth. The suits voice repeating the same line over and over again as he tried to move.

 _Emergency! User death imminent_

 _Seek medical attention_

"Thanks suit" He brought his arms in front of him and slightly lifted himself up to get a look at what all was going on in front of him, and what he saw was something unholy in some sort of terms.

The once single stone monster Grimm was still standing and instead of it being the only one, there now were two massive stone Grimm, one of them with both of its stone appendages instead of having it replaced like its other twin. Gordon was very worried at this point. He saw that they were struggling with just a single one and now there were two!

He slammed a fist on the ground as he shouted. "Goddamn it! If only I had something else, like a rocket or grenades!" As if someone was listening, a quick flash of light appeared next to Gordon, and what sat there was possibly the fanciest bejeweled box that sat there, and what stood on top was a cross. Before he could even say anything, he heard a voice appear from his voice, one very different from the HEV's voice.

"Doctor Freeman, can you hear me?"

Gordon shook his head. Who on this planet was talking to him. He quickly responded. "Yes?"

He heard what sounded like to be a high-five and a 'wahoo' from one of the voices on the other side of the suit before the voice spoke again. "Oh... Wow this is so awesome, I'm actually talking to 'The Doctor Freeman', calm down Tim, you've readied yourself for this... Good. I've sent all I can, well, it would have been there faster if Mr. Calhoun would have not spent so much time writing on a piece of paper."

'Barney?' Gordon questioned. Before he could ask, the voice continued. "We can't stay connected for too long Doctor, but it's good to know you're still out there. Since it's been sounding like one hell of the time over there, the R&D team let us send through an experimental weapon for you. Use it at your disposal." A large sound of static came from the suit, and the voice became much harder to hear than before. "It's already cutting... Thank Mr. Calhoun... Holy... Hand... Grenade... I... Love..." Then the transmission cut off.

'Holy hand grenade, just what is he talking about.' Gordon scrambled over to the box and lifted it open and was toughly surprised at what he saw. In the box, encased in velvet cloth, sat a single bejeweled ball, with a cross sitting atop of it. A rolled-up piece of paper sitting right next to it. He grabbed ahold of it and un-rolled it, and for some reason, he felt the need to read it aloud, even with the fighting happening in front of him.

Gordon coughed into his hand before starting.

 _"And Saint Attila raised the hand grenade up on high, saying, "O Lord, bless this Thy hand grenade that, with it, Thou mayest blow Thine enemies to tiny bits in Thy mercy." And the Lord did grin, and the people did feast upon the lambs and sloths and carp and anchovies and orangutans and breakfast cereals and fruit bats and large..."_

Gordon shook his head as he skipped down the now longer page before finding a spot to continue.

 _"And the Lord spoke, saying, "First shalt thou take out the Holy Pin. Then, shalt thou count to three. No more. No less. Three shalt be the number thou shalt count, and the number of counting shall be three. Four shalt thou not count, nor either count thou two, excepting that thou then proceed to three, being the third number, be reached, then, lobbest thou thy Holy Hand Grenade of Antioch towards thy foe, who, being naughty in My sight, shall snuff it."_

Gordon stared at the paper and sighed, before crumpling it up and punching it into the ground while shouting obscenities that shan't be spoken here. After releasing his rage, Gordon took ahold of the grenade and stood up, noticing that the explosive weapon held a hearty weight in his hand. He began to walk forward, all while staring at the stone Grimm swinging at the four before shouting.

"Clear the area and HIDE!"

All attention turned to him, even the massive stone Grimm. The four shared glances and quickly took off, hiding somewhere in the tree line. Gordon stood as tall as he could as he held out the grenade in front of him and spoke while pointing a finger towards it.

"If you're another prank by Barney, we're both dead."

He reached around the cross and removed it. He remembered the ridicules line to count to three, and after doing so, he arched his arm back as far as it would go, launching it into the air. Upon impact between the two Grimm, it seemed like that smallest thing ever, and after a few more seconds passed, nothing happened.

Gordon threw his hands up into the air and shouted. "BARNEY!" But while he shouted, the blistering heat wave that followed along with it and the massive 'boom' that accompanied it drowned out any sort of noise that one could say that would lie within at least a mile radius.

He didn't want to turn around, because if he did, he would have to take responsibility if the children were dead, and that was one thing he didn't want to do, at all. He inhaled a deep breath and spun around quickly and was instead greeted with a very different sight. In front of him was nothing, not a single sign of life, or rather the two-massive stone Grimm that once stood there. No blast pit of where the grenade once sat, nor the stones that would have been blown away. Instead there was just the same opening that was left there when he last saw before being knocked unconscious. He was extremely worried now. There was no sign of anything... at all.

Gordon cupped his hands around his mouth and began yelling out their names.

"RUBY! NORA! REN! JAUNE! Where are you guys!" He stumbled around for a second before pondering what exactly just happened. There were two giants originally here, and now there's absolutely nothing here, not even some sort of remains. He scratched the back of his head when the bushes across from him began to rustle. He quickly grabbed ahold of his crowbar, holding it in a readied stance for whatever might come through there. A moment of silence past and four children crawled their way out from the brushes each of them covered in head to toe of twigs and leaves.

They all shared a couple glances before sighing, standing up and dusting themselves off. Ruby quickly dashed up to Gordon, who in response reared back slightly at the enthusiasm he saw on her face.

"What. Was. That? That was so cool!"

The others joined in.

"That was quite a spectacle you showed us, I am intrigued as well."

"There was a massive 'KERBLOOSH' then everything was just... Gone."

"My everything hurts at the current moment."

Gordon stayed silent and pondered and what exactly happened just now. Supposedly the resistance R&D team came up with it, and knowing them not at all, he knew nothing of what to expect from them either. So, he improvised.

"In familiar three-dimensional gravity, the minimum energy of a microscopic black hole is 1019 GeV, in which it has to be condensed into a region on the order of the Planck length. This is achieved by colliding two particles within that length and 'boom', micro-black-hole." Whether or not this is what the grenade did in some sort of way, he knew it was the only thing he could come up with to explain why everything was gone to an extent.

Confusion rested on the faces of the children before Jaune spoke up. "'Black-what'?"

'Ahh, ok.'

Gordon waved his hand to them and when he went to retrieve the box that once held the dangerous weapon, he noticed that it was missing. 'Oh dear, I'm really tired of these things happening.'

He turned back around and noticed that the four were speaking. He began his walk up to them when he heard Jaune speak up, saying something about team 'Junior', before deciding that Ren was onto something and walking off.

Gordon had no idea what team was what and why he should matter, actually that it should matter since he was technically traveling with them and was also part of their team... was he? He wasn't necessarily sure at this point, and instead it was just better to stay quiet and continue walking on.

By the time they arrived at the village and spoke to the supposed 'elder' the four had made their way into a black smith. Gordon stood outside, deciding to wait on them to finish up their business. He wanted to get a better look at what exactly was all around him, realizing that the place they were in, was looking to much like a medieval town, yet everyone wore ancient Chinese clothing and acted that way as well. It just wasn't tying up for Gordon like he would want it too, there was too much variation in his life enough as it was, he didn't need anymore. He sighed, as he lowered his head.

'You know, I've always wanted to hold a hammer, like a battle hammer, those things are awesome.'

He made the choice to enter the black smith, and upon doing so was met with a sight.

"It's got a cute little bunny rabbit!"

Gordon was immediately taken back by Ruby's excitement, and when he glanced over to what he was talking about, he also covered his mouth rather quickly. In front of him, Jaune was currently wearing the hoodie he's been wearing, but with the chest plate finally removed, it revealed a large bunny on the front of it. Ruby began to bust up laughing at the boy's jacket as he tried to explain himself.

"It's Pumpkin Pete, you know, from the cereal!"

Ruby continued to laugh, "What did you do? Send in a box top for a prize?"

The boy turned around. "Yeah! Fifty!"

They both lost it. Normally Gordon would've just laughed to himself but at this moment of calmness, he couldn't contain himself. He and Ruby both burst into a hard laugh, Ruby so hard that she fell to the floor. With his laughter, the trio still standing noticed that he was indeed standing in the room as well.

"You as well Dr. Freeman?"

Gordon sniffled his laughter as he spoke. "You sent in that many... for that silly jacket? That's pretty comical." The trio just stared at the grown man before turning around at another man's voice.

"Can't have a huntsman without his weapon. Made all the modifications you asked for. That was some fine metal you brought me, accents the white nicely."

Gordon though for a second before realizing what metal he was talking about. He knew he'd have to tell them at some point about Pyrrha, but being himself, he just couldn't bring himself to do it. She wasn't dead, rather, just some other circumstances that weren't going to allow her to accompany them on this journey. He continued to ponder over when to explain to them their future plans and how Pyrrha wasn't possibly ever going to be part of their team again, or rather, till he was gone, he pushed it off whilst walking, and before he knew it, they were already on a path walking in the forest while Jaune was listing off supplies of theirs.

"Food."

"Check."

"Water."

"Check."

"How about ammo?"

"Locked and loaded. Thank you Schnee dust company."

"Got the map?"

"Uh... Ren's got it."

"No, I don't, you have it."

"Wait, what?"

"Guy's please tell me you're joking."

"Uhhhhhhhehehe."

"GUY'S, guy's... guy's?"

"...Nope."

Gordon sighed as they continued to walk forward. He thought it was going to be a long enough journey, he was wrong, oh so very wrong. He slumped forward as he pulled out a very, badly drawn makeshift map in front of him. From his point of view, he couldn't even tell what was what.

'I knew I should've taken an art class at some point.'

He crumbled up the paper and threw it behind him, no use in even trying anymore.

 **I apologize for it being slightly shorter than the other chapters, but If I didn't write it today, then I would've just ended up ignoring it, and I most surely did not want that to happen. I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did writing it, see you when I see you my most wonderful readers. Toodaloo.**


	9. Old Enemies

**Greetings everyone, and welcome to yet another chapter; YEAH... Not much to say this time except one major thing. I'm starting school on the 20** **th** **and with it, updates will come, sadly, possibly only 1 a month. I don't want it, but seeing my schedule, it's gonna be pushing me. Another thing, while different for me to ask this seeing on how I've pretty much never had one, I am looking for Beta readers. I don't want to keep on giving you wonderful people mediocre chapters with a multitude of spelling errors and little things here and there. This also entails increasing the quality of these chapters, really getting a feeling with the readers of this story, and with it an enjoyable feeling with it all the time, not just every so often. That's all I've got to say really, if you what to be a Beta Reader, just PM me, or don't. As I said, I've never had one so it'd be a new experience for me, and if not, then nothing majorly will change except over time. Enjoy the chapter everyone, and hopefully see you at the end.**

Gordon was sitting on a stump when Ruby suddenly sprung from her sleeping bag in front of him, sighing more than usual. While surprised, Gordon stayed quiet as the girl became rather sad looking, her facial expression showing it clearly. She glanced around until her eyes fell upon him. A look of confusion appearing on her face now.

"Gordon?"

He stared at her and simply waved at her. She stared at him for a few more seconds before speaking.

"What are you doing up already?"

Gordon let out a small chuckle. "I could ask you the same thing Ruby."

She paused for a second before mouthing out an 'Oh' and nodding her head. "I... just can't sleep..."

He sighed. "Nightmares are normal you know. Especially remembering something you don't want to..."

She continued to stare at him before speaking. "Are you up... for the same thing?"

Gordon locked eyes with hers, silver with green. "Never could sleep in after my first job, just a habit nowadays."

Silence permeated the air around them until he spoke up again. "Lie back down Ruby. You're young and need the rest. There's always times to talk later..."

She stayed quiet and nodded her head softly while staring at him with what he guessed to be a pitiful look. Why so, he wasn't entirely sure. With that Ruby lied back down and left Gordon alone in the morning dawn.

Gordon walked behind the four, why he chose to do so, he wasn't entirely sure of either. One thing he can be sure of was that he was tired of walking. While he's told himself this plenty of times, he was serious every time he said it. What he wouldn't do to get ahold of his buggy again, and just fly through these roads, not stopping for anything. He let his eyes wonder off into the sky, and from there he decided to let his mind wonder and enjoy a hobby he enjoyed while he was younger; pointing out shapes in the clouds.

'Huh, that one looks like one of those weird green portal things... WHAT!'

"LOOK OUT!" Gordon shouted as the portal seemingly feel above the four, and appearing to much wider than any other portal he'd encountered. As it fell closer to them, he could see them staring at it, not moving a single inch. He dashed forward towards them, and with a swing of his crowbar, knocked only Jaune and Ruby out from underneath the portal, but using his shoulder, also shoved Ren and Nora out from beneath it. When they turned around to look at Gordon as to why he did that, they only saw him staring at them as the portal enveloped him, removing him from their sight.

The next thing to happen was Gordon standing in the center of a burning town, Grimm littering the streets and civilians running left and right as they were slaughtered. He took a step back and was met with resistance. When he turned around, he met with another face. The man he bumped into had short brown, spikey hair, and what looked like some various forms of grey colored armor on him. Before he could say anything, the man shouted over the screams and the multitude of noises.

"Are you a Hunter!"

Gordon quickly glanced around before looking back at him and nodding his head. He reached behind him and pulled out his Gravity gun, holding it in his hands. "Yes."

The man nodded his head before speaking. "The name's Desmond. We can sort this out later, for now we have to get everyone to safety!" He started to take off, but before he could Gordon grabbed him by the shoulder.

"What happened here?"

Desmond stared at him for a second confused before he spoke up. "Right. We were attacked by bandits, and in the midst of it all, the Grimm started appearing. Listen, we can talk later, we need to help these people!"

He was released from Gordons grip and took off into the crowd of people running in their direction. Gordon only stood there as more screams surrounded him. A cry resounded from behind him and he quickly turned around, a woman appearing to run up to him. "Please, you have to help my baby, she's still inside our home!" She appeared to be crying profusely.

Gordon had to stare for a second. The woman in front of him had... ears? More specifically animal ears, and that of a bunny. He quickly thought to human/animal hybrids but quickly came back to reality, realizing that he had a job to do. "Where?" He said sternly.

The woman pointed from behind her and Gordon could only internally sigh. Across from the entire town sat the woman's house, across the main source of where people were getting attacked by Grimm and most of the Hunters were battling at. He turned back to the woman. "Get to somewhere safe. I'll be sure to bring her to you."

The woman was still tearing from her eyes, but nodded in the midst of it while smiling.

Gordon stared back at the house, and took of sprinting. He set his eyes only on the house, there was no need for him to deal with the Grimm or anything. While he wanted to help more, he understood that a single scientist couldn't do much to help, especially one without any magical powers like everyone else. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a figure being thrown towards him. He quickly ducked underneath and noticed that a man's torso was cut in half, and was proceeded to be thrown at him. He glanced in the direction of what attacked him and stood still for only a second, but saw everything he need to.

Standing across from him was a large figure, it shared a resemblance of someone riding a horse, but at the same time it looked like that of a centaur. The humanoid portion of the Grimm was wearing a type of tribal mask, and was practically fused with the horse. The horse part of the Grimm looked horrendous in Gordon's eyes. It's ribcage extending out of its torso, and the front of its face looking half skull, and the other part just covered in the black mass that all Grimm shared.

As if for that single second, the centaur-like Grimm turned and stared at Gordon, who in return went wide eyed. Before it could even begin to move, Gordon took off sprinting towards the house once again, hearing a massive roar come from behind him. He made up his mind to ignore it if possible, and only get the woman's baby out from the house. He could hear the clops of the horse getting closer, and in the last second, Gordon dove through the houses window, shattering them and crashing into some furniture inside. He quickly got to his feet and turned around; to his surprise the Grimm was no longer there.

Gordon turned back around and began searching around the house.

'Kitchen? No. Room one? No. Room two?'

Sitting in the center of the room was a baby cradle. Gordon sighed and quickly went over to it, but before he could reach over to it, he quickly turned away and covered his mouth. He knew he didn't have to look back at it to reassure himself of what he saw. Gordon glanced upwards and noticed the small part of the roof missing, realizing that part was exactly what crushed it. As he glanced around, he cursed himself for not saving someone again, this time worse, it being a child that lost their life.

"Dammit!"

As he slammed his hand on the wall, the whole building shook. Gordon attempted to make a move, but before he could, the building shook again, effectively causing it to collapse in on itself, and with Gordon inside. He held up his hands as stones fell atop of him, on slamming into his head and knocking him unconscious, blackness enveloping his surroundings.

When Gordon came back to his senses, his hand reactively went to his head. Lowering it, he noticed that he was lucky enough to escape death yet again. His eyes scanned his area once again, and what he saw was very different from what he left it as. There was practically no longer a house, and instead was just a massive hole in the ground and the side pile of rubble that Gordon was lying in. The town around him was no longer on fire nor was there any screaming. Instead there was only charred buildings and silence.

Gordon crawled his way out from the rubble, lifting stones off of his body that previously not only hid him, but pinned him as well. When he finally stood up, he could see that there was nothing left, not even a soul. He picked up his Gravity gun and slung it around him and began walking in the previous direction that he arrived from, well more like back to the spot his arrived from. As he continued to walk, he noticed a familiar figure leaning up against a collapsed stone wall; it was Desmond. From the looks of it, he was in a much worse state than he was, a wound on his side and a pool of blood alongside him. Gordon grimaced as he made his way over to the fallen Hunter. As he made his way closer, he could hear the man coughing, and with it his eyes locked with Gordons. A smile came onto his face.

"*Cough Cough* I see that you made it."

Gordon nodded as he walked closer to Desmond, thinking of how he could help him. This has happened before multiple times, and each time he couldn't help. Gordon and no medical training if any, and if he ever got injured, the suit was always there to help him. The man coughed again, this time some blood splattering out before him. Before Gordon could say anything, the man weakly gestured over to him. Gordon walked over to him, before taking a seat next to him, laying his Gravity gun next to him.

"You're not really a Hunter, are you?"

Gordon looked over at Desmond, a sad look in his eyes. He smiled at him.

"I thought so. Hunters normally carry a weapon on them...*Cough Cough* I didn't see anything on you though."

Gordon tried to say something but Desmond kept talking.

"Thank you... You tried, and that's all that counts..."

He placed a hand on Gordon's shoulder and smiled, a rather bloody one at that.

"I... I think I'm going to sleep now, alright? I can trust you... enough" The hand slipped from his shoulder and onto the ground. The one hand Desmond had on his wound falling limp as well; leaving Gordon alone, sitting next to a dead man.

Gordon heard voices from in front of him, and upon glancing in the direction, he saw a familiar four colors. He didn't smile, he could only sit there with his emotionless expression, unsure of what to do again after losing someone that he could have helped.

Cheering alongside talking was the only sounds Gordon could hear. While he would normally ignore the abrupt sounds, he was in a certain state that he didn't want to be interrupted in. That current state was one where he was sleeping, and rather soundly at that until the interruption came into the situation. He opened his eyes and noticed one thing that was extremely off for his current situation, and that one thing was that there was a roof above his head at the current moment, and not tree branches. There wasn't the cool breeze that was accompanied by being outside, and neither was there the sound of wildlife either.

He lifted himself upwards and realized that he was also sleeping on an actual bed, rather than a simple sleeping mat, and what was more that he was still in his HEV suit. While he may have slept in beds before, normally if it was one that looked relatively nice, he didn't have his suit. Upon lifting himself off the bed, he noticed there was an odd weight to his body, and that his head felt heavier than usual.

'I don't remember drinking at all, and that's what normally happens when I drink too much...'

Gordon reached for his face and realized that his glasses weren't sitting there. He glanced around the room and noticed a rather large mirror, a blurry one at that. Upon making his way over to the mirror, he attempted to take in his surroundings. Very few things caught his attention, and the one being was the door, and how it looked much more cartoonish than what he remembered doors looking like...

He pushed the thought aside and finally made his way to the mirror, he felt around the desk and felt a familiar feeling, his glasses. He held them up for a second; noticing that they looked up to par, he placed them on his face. Upon doing so he saw a sight he couldn't fully comprehend. His head was larger than his body, and that his body was what looked to be maybe a foot tall, everything in proportion except for his head. He quickly glanced around the room and noticed that everything had a cartoon feel to it and that it was proportioned to him as well.

Gordon took a few steps backward, his eyes dashing back and forth to everything around him. Everything was not normal, and what was normal to Gordon was not normal to everyone else, and that was saying something. He fixed his glasses upon his face as he made a mad dash for the door.

"AHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

Gordon could only scream as he kicked the cartoonish door to the ground. Many thoughts flying through his head as he began to run down the well light hallway that looked like a back room of sorts.

'Where the hell am I, this doesn't make any sense. Take me back, please, whoever put me here, take me back!' He took a sharp turn, making his way towards the sounds that woke him from his sleep. Gordon hoped that whoever was there could somehow explain, or even answer his predicament. As he continued to run, the door front of him was the only direction to go. A strange thing that stood out more than what already was standing out to him was that above the door was a lit sign that read 'CURRENTLY LIVE'.

He didn't understand what it was talking about, but as he closed in on the door, he began to hear laughter. Upon bursting through the door, he realized what he was staring at, but yet he couldn't comprehend what exactly was going on. In front of him laid out what he could only describe as a studio of the sort, one where they film cooking shows or those types of infomercials and standing on the state in front of those cameras were faces that he recognized, and others that looked extremely new.

Standing on the stage was Ruby, Ren, Nora, and Jaune. Also, on the stage was that evil fire-woman and Pyrrha, looking completely fine... except for the whole head larger than body thing.

He saw Ruby standing in the center of them all speaking, rather, finishing up something. "And we'll see you next season! Thank you, good night!" And began clapping.

'Season? Goodnight? Are we not even outside? What is she talking about?'

He took a step back from where he originally stood, his open hand tightening into that of a fist. Gordon finally realized what was going on. This 'was' a sitcom. There was no laughing crowd, rather only a few shadow figures standing behind the cameras and a few sittings in chairs.

A frown grew on Gordon's face as they continued with their existing words. He didn't want to be part of this, no, he wanted to escape. He'd already made the choice to either live in peace and quiet, or live a life that he was currently living, and last time he checked; a sitcom was not peaceful in any way nor was it quiet in his opinion. As he turned around to run back through the door to make an attempt to find an exit, the scenery around him changed. He was now standing in the center of the stage, all supposed spotlights on him. He turned around, and reached for his crowbar, and realizing it wasn't there.

To his left, Ruby walked out of the shadows with the same comedic like the smile on her face. Gordon put up his fists in defense.

'Stay away from me dammit. I won't become part of this façade of a sitcom you have going!'

Jaune appeared on the other side of him now, and more and more faces began to appear around him, creating a complete circle, even more, faces appearing behind them. Gordon began to panic, the voice in his head screaming at him to start swinging, but his conscience wouldn't let him hit unarmed children.

'LEAVE. ME. ALONE! I WILL HURT SOMEONE!'

They began to get closer towards him, not even stepping, rather simply sliding on their tiny feet as Gordon struggled to get out of his impending doom.

'THIS SHOULDN'T BE HAPPENING, LIKE PHYSICALLY NOT HAPPENING! I DON'T WANT TO DIE LIKE THIS! I DON'T DESERVE TO DIE! DON'T LET ME BE PART OF THIS RUNNING GAAAAG!'

They began to crush him, or rather bury him; an act to assimilate him into the act they were part of, the one thing he didn't want to happen. While yelling out in fear, his arm stuck out the now massive crowd that surrounded him, the spotlight gradually disappearing from view, until the very last one shut off, leaving him in the darkness.

Gordon shot up into the darkness. His breathing was heavy as he glanced around the area he was in. Upon swallowing what he could have said had been that largest ever, he sighed upon noticing that he was indeed at the last place he remembered. He let his hand reach up to his forehead and noticing that he was drenched in sweat. Apparently, his HEV suit doesn't notice one's body heat from what he could say had been one of the terrifying nightmares he's ever experienced. He let out another deep breath as he made his way to his feet.

'There's no way I'm going back to bed after that... Some kind of recurring joke about... Katan's... why those?' He glanced around, taking in his surroundings. After looking around, he decided to take some mental notes.

'Ok, there's Nora, Ren... Not Jaune, and not Ruby... all sleeping soundly...'

Gordon sighed as he picked up his crowbar whilst mumbling to himself.

"They're good kids Gordon, being team leaders and such, I bet they're just doing some sort of strategizing... not what high schoolers used to do; or still do?... Ruby's too good of a kid and Jaune... well he explains the situation itself."

He sent one more glance back at the small campsite before heading off into the woods, and hopefully try not to get lost.

As Gordon walked through the dark forest, his hands pressed out in front of him pushing branches out of his way every now and then. Making his way from the campsite after a few minutes of walking, he stopped and thought to himself.

'I thought so.'

Gordon was lost yet again. He started to accept it as a natural fact that since he's experienced following out of place entrances and vents, that maybe he'd have an advantage at navigating his way through possibly a forest, yet here he was. A strange feeling encroached onto his shoulders and he immediately dove out of the way and brought up his crowbar, a sense of danger like that of a 'Freeman Sense'…

Upon looking back, he saw a rather large, dead tree hanging over that resembled something from a place he didn't wish to remember. The large tree had a single, hanging branch that shared the look like that of a hook as it bent over and was spiked at the end.

'Damn trees. Nature sucks, and why the hell is it always trying to kill me?'

Gordon walked over and patted the tree with his free hand while smiling. This is an entirely different world, so it would come to no surprise if something that of a flora nature would attempt to take his life, just like on the Xen world. He took a step back, tightening his grip on his crowbar. He flexed his shoulders and began to raise his crowbar as if too hit the tree as he spoke aloud.

"Might as well practice my swings I suppose."

*Clink*

Gordon brought his crowbar down and held it in front of him as he questioned what sound his weapon just made. He quickly shook it off and raised it once again.

*Clink*

He held his current stance with his crowbar behind his head, letting it fall back a little more to where he imagined the sound was hitting.

*Clink*…*Clink*...*Clink Clink Clink Clink*

Gordon started turning around. 'Alright metal tree, I believe we need to have a talk about how you're interrupting...'

His attention stopped as he currently stared at a black mass currently standing in front of him. He lowered his crowbar from above his head and let it fall to his side while bringing his other hand up to his chin and began stroking it. 'I didn't know literal darkness could form itself into existence like this.'

Gordon brought up his hand and placed it upon the massive black mass that was currently right in front of him. Sliding it side to side, he noticed there was slight resistance and a strange feeling of...fur. "Now there are two things that I know that do not go together at all, unless..." His eyes followed the mass upwards and widened upon seeing what was there.

Standing currently in front of him was a large, bear-like Grimm covered in its known white like bone armor protruding from its shoulders and what he guessed to be its back, and while Gordon was absolutely sure it had a name for it, he most certainly didn't care to remember it at the current moment, instead thought up what he considered a brilliant plan.

'RUN AWAY!'

Gordon spun on his foot but before he was able to make a mad dash away from the massive Grimm, he was grabbed from behind and brought to the front of the beast. He reared away from the Grimm's face as he was brought closer. 'As much as I believe in the chance of evolutionary breeding, the thought of mating with anything animal related does not bring any interest to me at all...' He swung at the Grimm's face. 'SO, LET ME GO!' The crowbar collided with its face, stunning the beast and tossing Gordon away from it and next to a tree, by which he skillfully landed after an astounding backflip; shouting afterward. Regaining his composure, he stood up and pointed at the beast while yelling,

"You've faced your last day beast, prepare to be slain by the one and only Captain Gordon Freeman of the Intergalactic, no, Universal House of Pancakes. This time, you'll be one who will get served."

Gordon ran towards the Grimm, his crowbar raised high, at the same time regretting his choice of not bringing his gravity gun along with him, even though there would have been no use for it otherwise. Upon reaching the Grimm, he swung his crowbar into the side of the beast, only for it to almost sink into its side. In his attempt to remove it, he was alternatively met with his weapon being stuck in the beast as it groaned, what Gordon guessed to be in pain. He glanced up and saw that the Grimm was staring down at him, its bright red eyes almost piercing into him. One again Gordon attempted to remove his crowbar from its side, but was instead swatted aside, his crowbar coming free as well.

This time after being sent flying, he did not fall onto his feet, but rather crashed into a tree causing many of its leaves to fall upon him. Gordon groaned out in pain as he made his way to his feet again, the suit injecting the morphine to relieve his current pain.

"We're clearly making more than enough right now, where the hell is everyone?" Gordon shouted with his hands reaching out, figuratively asking for help for the people that were nowhere around.

He sighed as he stared back at the Grimm, it slowly making its way towards him instead of the usual behavior he'd seen them act in. 'Now you're acting all hoity toity aren't ya?' Gordon could've sworn on some sort of mystical being as the beast in front of him seemingly smiled as it continued to stride towards him.

Gordon shot an arm out to it, pointing. 'That's it, I'm not only going to wipe that damn smile off your face, I'm going to remove that dammed head.'

Gordon made another charge towards it once again, this time using the long-jump module to launch himself over, and behind the Grimm, allowing him to climb onto the back. Almost as soon as he got a grip onto his back, the Grimm stood up and began to swipe at him, failing miserably as it did. While it swung, Gordon began to stab at the beast's neck vigorously. As he stabbed, he started to get annoyed with the fact that there was only smoke that blew up into his face instead of the usual bodily fluids that would spray out at him. While he didn't mind the mess, he was just furious since the body composition made no sense to him at all.

After what seemed like forever to Gordon, and along with the fact that he felt as if they traveled plenty far from how much walking the Grimm was doing, the Grimm finally gained the idea of slamming itself into a tree, and with it, the one on its back, in this case, Gordon. The Grimm charged into the side of a tree, its back going first, and Gordon along with it as he was seemingly crushed into the tree, his body almost imprinting himself into it; his glasses falling off his face from the impact.

"Ow..."

He fell out of the tree and onto his hands and feet. Gordon could still feel the massive Grimm standing right in front of him. Even though he couldn't see it, he could guess that it was currently turning around, from there it would stare him down, and eventually raise its claws to strike him down. When he heard another growl, he quickly rolled out of the way; in his site was something entirely different. Even though blurry, the sight of a large black mass floating in the air was not normal, even right now.

Gordon glanced downwards and noticed a familiar shimmer. He quickly bent down and picked up his glasses, and noticing that they were still in fine shape, placed them onto his nose. Doing so, he noticed that the Grimm that he was once riding, was now, being strung up by the tree he was slammed into. He squinted his eyes and came to a much worse understanding.

"No..." His mind began to run wild. 'You're fucking kidding me! WHY ARE THEY HERE TOO!'

Hanging from underneath the branch, or rather a collection of branches was a strange, large suction cup like organism that from the outside, sported a multitude of sharp teeth, and what was currently entangling the Grimm was a long string-like appendage dangling out from the opening. From what Gordon could tell, there was at least five of these familiar alien creatures hanging from the multiple thick tree branches; the struggling of the Grimm allowing their appendages to attach to it.

He fell to the ground, his knees hitting the ground first before his fists soon followed up. Gordon was astounded at this current discover, the same alien creature he encounters throughout his, at most, a few months of adventuring of saving the world, the dammed Barnacles. Why he remembered the ironic name the scientists gave the alien creature, yet not simple names of those he spoke to, he wasn't too sure.

Gordon stared back up at the Grimm, who now was visibly being torn apart at this point. Limb by limb, it looked like some sort of torture horror flick, and through some sort of pity, Gordon almost felt the need to feel sorry for the beast that, at this point, was deceased.

He shook his head and began looking around. He knew that he had to dispose of these dammed things before he went anywhere, but at the look of his current position, he would have to climb the tree to reach them. Gordon pondered for a moment before he took a running start and surprisingly launched himself up the tree, practically running up the trunk and landing on the thickest branch. He glanced around rather surprised and looked down at his feet.

"Great. I don't want to admit it, but I think these mystical powers are pretty damn amazing."

As he slowly crept his way over to the hanging Barnacles, he saw that they had a much different look then what they looked like throughout City 17 and Black Mesa, their usual sickly greenish, brown color was now replaced with a much darker gray color, almost black like the...

Before he could continue his thought, his body on instinct brought down his crowbar on the thing, stabbing into the side of it. The thing looked as if it was coughing up its lungs at this point, and immediately its entire self just fell out of its mouth. A multitude of skulls, bones and the other remains of animals were spilled out, but what was different from the others he's encountered, it was no longer the greenish puke juices that it spewed, it was now a black color instead. Gordon had to look away as it continued to empty its contents. When he figured it was finally finished, he glanced back down and noticed something he didn't want to be. The Barnacle was slowly turning into a misty form, but what was different from what he expected was that the greenish brown color was returning to a part of it, then suddenly the whole thing fell from the tree, the dark grey color now completely gone.

Gordon stared down at the Barnacle on the ground, now absolutely sure of what he was staring at. The Barnacles he's always encountered before were now being possessed by the dark forces that plagued Remnant.

'Bullshit!'

He turned to the other Barnacles, a stern looks on displeasure on his face. 'I'm just tired. At this point, I'm not sure it's the PTSD I'm suffering from by constantly being shot at or the lack of sleep.'

Gordon struck another Barnacle, and struck it, and continued to strike the Barnacle until it fell from the tree. His crowbar now covered in the greenish liquid. The smell rose to his nose and Gordon had to cover his mouth again as he felt a familiar feeling in his stomach.

'Too long, it's been to long since I've smelt this, and I don't want to remember it!'

 _Thirty Minutes later_

Gordon was currently sitting back at his sleeping bag. He glanced around and took in all that was around him now. Ruby and Jaune were back, and the other two hadn't seem to have moved at all, except for Nora's extra movement from her practically energy. As he sat there though, he began to wonder what exactly, or rather who he was traveling with. At this very moment, whenever they speak to one another, he doesn't feel like a third wheel, or rather a fifth wheel, but more like a guardian in a sense. Like a babysitter at some points, while at others he feels something more like a good uncle in a way.

As he pondered on his thoughts about his current 'team', strangely enough a picture fell slipped onto his lap. From where, he wasn't sure, but what he saw changed his entire mood.

The picture he was currently holding was taken back when they finally gathered in City 17, and though short, was possibly one of the best times of his life. There they were, Alyx, Issac, Barney, Eli, and himself all standing next to one another. He remembered the day rather easily; the picture being taken by a random resistance member who wanted the supposed 'leaders' next to one another. Gordon smiled once more at the photo before slipping it into a cover on his suit before covering himself and falling into a deep sleep till the next day.

 **Would you look at that, we're here and not there, but while I had an idea of where to go with that, I've lost it, just like I've lost you, sorry. I hope you wonderful readers enjoyed, well reading of course. Comment if you'd like, or don't, it's okay, I still appreciate every single one of you, no matter what. See you when I see you.**


	10. Non-Opposing Force

**It's that time again readers, and I hope you've readied yourself for it. Thank you all for waiting by the way, it really does mean something to me for those that have stuck around. Let's skip past all the mushy stuff and hop right into the chapter, enjoy.**

Over the entire area, a horn blasted a familiar tone louder than one would appreciate while serving the exact purpose of waking one's self. To the one currently listening to it, he found it no more pleasurable than breaking one's arm. Adrian Shepard was standing in front of his cot along with seven others while the horn continued to blast off around them. Before the horn could finish playing, a man walked into the room shouting.

"Rise and shine ladies! My name is Senior Drill Instructor Dwight T. Barnes! The first and last words I wanna hear out of your stinkin' holes is "Sir"! Do I make myself clear?!" The man said while finishing his pace across the room and standing beneath a clock that read 6:07.

All the men in the room except for Barnes shouted. "Sir, yes, Sir!"

Barnes nodded to himself before pacing the room again. "My goal is simple: as of right now you are all maggots! You will not speak until spoken to. You will not sleep unless told to do so! When I ask you to jump. You will reply with "How High?"! Do you get me?!

The men shouted out once more. "Sir, yes, Sir!"

Barnes stood silent until their eyes met. Shepard quickly snapped his head back forward but the connection was already made. Footsteps were getting closer to him and there he was, standing directly in front of him, his flat brimmed hat inches away from his face.

"What's your name, dirtbag?!" He set his hands on his side.

"Corporal Adrian Shepard, Sir."

Barnes's face twisted into anger. "Sound off like you got a pair!"

Shepard now shouted. "Corporal Adrian Shepard, Sir!"

His hands fell to his side. "Corporal Shepard, huh? Looks more like Corporal "Dog Meat" to me! Seems your name was mysteriously bumped to the top of the advanced training list!" He shot his arm out towards the door he entered in through. "My suggestion to you is to get your ass down to the training center and report to Drill Instructor Sharp A.S.A.P! Now move it, Corporal!"

Shepard quickly snapped back and realized what he was just asked to do. Advanced training? What the hell did he do to get into that? He began walking out the door into the barracks and towards the stairs, still hearing the yelling of Barnes in the background. "Where you from, soldier? Texas! Holy cow! You know what comes from Texas, don't you?""

He made his way down to the bottom of the stairs and was pushing the first door of the exit. Walking down the hallway he was muttering to himself. "That's interesting. I wouldn't have pegged myself for the special forces type. Could it be a prank, or am I just that damn good." He pushed the second door open and walked out into the courtyard of the camp. He saw another instructor and two others, one finishing what he guessed was laps and the other was currently doing pushups.

"1! 2! 3! 4! You call that a push-up?! All the way down!"

Shepard continued to walk past the trio and into the Advanced Training Facility across from the barracks. Strangely close to where we sleep... probably some reasoning for it. His eyes trailed up to the building right next to it. The Tactical Operation Command building, and what caught his eye and made his stop was a certain suited individual talking with another Commander up by the window. He stopped and stared for a second until the instructor right next to him shouted out.

"What is your major malfunction, dirtbag?!"

This surprised him and he quickly made his way into the building he was supposed to enter. Walking through the doors he noticed they were very different, they just slid open, revealing they were rather thick metal doors. He stepped through and they slammed behind him, leaving him in a long, windowless corridor. A camera locked onto him as he made his way down the hall, watching his every step. The next door repeated the same and he walked through. He was now standing in a room with two windows on the side and another door in front of him. Shepard waited for a second, seeing if one would tell him to stop or something of the sort, yet there was nothing. He stepped through the door and it slammed behind him, just like the ones before.

He figured the best thing to do was continue going straight, and he did so. Walking down the stairs, he saw another instructor, who he took to it to being Sharpe, standing on the platform above him. He began to yell at him when he reached the bottom. "All right, maggot, listen up! I don't care what your previous outfit was like, but around here we do things my way! Follow my instructions carefully and by the end of the day I'll have you eating danger and crapping victory! Now move your butt, soldier! I will meet you on the other side in the armor!"

Shepard noticed the large sign next to the door that read 'Armor Access'. He sighed as he walked through the sliding door and through the short winding hallway through the other door. He walked into a room where a multitude of things hung on walls and sat on tables. Before he could focus his attention on any one thing, he heard the footsteps on the catwalk behind him, and with it, Drill Instructor Sharpe.

"Mounted on the wall below me, you will see a P.C.V! This is a Powered Combat Vest! Use it correctly, and I guarantee it will save your life! Your PCV is able to recharge from battery power, or it can interface and recharge with commercial, military, and H.E.V. charging stations!"

Silence stood between the two. Shepard was slightly annoyed from the constant yelling inside, seeing on how it echoed rather easily. Sharpe shouted at him.

"What are you waiting for?! Grab that P.C.V. and get it fully charged! Trust me, maggot, you're gonna need it! I'll meet you in the next area to demonstrate some of your vest's capabilities!" Sharpe walked off and through another door leaving Shepard to his own devices.

Shepard walked up to the PCV and slipped it on, getting a strange feeling as it beeped alive in a way, showing his vitals and such down in the corner of his eye. He turned around and saw two large batteries sitting on the ground and three large stations, the same ones Sharpe was speaking of. He walked over and took a cord that looked to be used for charging and plugged it into the HEV charging station. Watching it slowly charge its way up, but not completely. He finished the charge on the blue machine right next to it. Upon feeling satisfied, he walked through the door and long, red lit hallway. Upon opening the second door, another sigh stood out to Shepard. "Test Firing Chamber. PCV Equipped Personnel Only."

He shrugged it off and walked around the large stone wall and his eyes fell on where Sharpe was currently being above him. The intercom of the room came alive.

"The armored Vest that your military has provided you with will keep you alive! Step onto the mark and this will be demonstrated for you!" The door on his side opened up and out came another soldier, though he was unable to recognize him, what he did recognize was the gun he was carrying. He heard the pump of the shotgun and Shepard quickly glanced over to where the red light shown. The entire wall was covered in bullet holes, and what he could only hope to be red paint. He glanced back Sharpe, then to the man, then back to Sharpe. 'Seriously?' He repeated the action, glancing at all three, looking back to Sharpe once more. 'Seriously? Right, yeah, cuz I'm sure that guy's shotgun is just loaded with rubber bullets and I'm sure that red stuff is just paint.'

Shepard stepped onto the small white platform and was instantly shot by the man across from him, earning a groan from Shepard. The intercom came back on.

"As you can see, you are not dead! Your P.C.V. absorbed the damage at the cost of its power! Keep your P.C.V. charged and your chances of survival in the field are very high! Proceed to the next area!"

Shepard sighed and placed his hand on the wall and let out a sigh. He was about to move forward until the man who shot him spoke up.

"Yeah, it's not enjoyable is it?" He let out a small chuckle.

Shepard shot him a glance and continued through the next door, expecting only more to come.

Blackness is all that surrounded Shepard. It was different than what he's experienced before, there was no sound, no empty space, because if it was empty, there had to be something there for it to be empty in? A figure appeared in front of him, one that he most certainly remembered, and one that he didn't wish to see at all, yet in any attempt to move or shout towards him, it was just fruitless. The man adjusted his tie and began to speak once more.

"I see that your habit of sleeping still persists even before you've started Corporal Shepard. Not a quality I'd suggest when applying for a position such as yours, but... your actions beforehand have gathered the attention of our... current employers and with it look forward to a certain task I've decided to appoint you in this situation... seeing as how your fellow coworker is currently assigned another task that one could say... is much more influential. The whole aspect of team work is to move towards a final goal in mind."

Next to the G-man, a large screen of sort appeared, and on it a sequence of events started to play. Multiple scenes that looked like something out of a show of sorts, girls talking in some sort of school, then flashing over to the same girls fighting the same black aliens he saw before, though many more different types and such. The movements and weapons they used looked all the more complex as some looked to move at such high speeds and others creating literal clones of themselves.

More complex scenes started to appear. Fights with what he could only determine as a sort of fancy dressed man alongside a short girl who fought with an umbrella. Next it went to them fighting on a train...underground alongside a... professor? Finally, it ended on a single scene, but what was different about it wasn't the two fighting, but rather the one behind them. Two women specifically, one fighting with fire while the other with some sort of magnetic powers. But behind them, was a figure in an orange HEV suit, one that he recognized ever so easily. Before it could show anymore, it quickly closed itself back into the black abyss that it came from.

The man spoke back up.

"You'll follow the simple task of protecting the following individuals from certain dangers they'll come in contact with."

'Right, I'm going to act as a bodyguard for super students. I take it that they're just going to now me from a certain past event in their life that never happened and will trust me no problem. I went from behind a soldier to being a daycare, great.'

"Don't worry about such formalities with them Corporal Shepard, its... not required in your current role. Our employers have... also taken the liberties of paying for... your previous assets and will be delivered in time. I should tell you that... they have tendencies. Since they never had the chance to interfere with your associate, they've taken it upon you, and one of them is particularly interested in adding something to your current state. Think of it as... an upgrade Corporal Shepard, one that is unlike any other... or is it?"

The man didn't finish as he shot up from where he was laying, or at least attempted to. He lunged forward slightly but was stopped by a feeling on his wrist. When looking back, he got a glance at what was holding him currently. He had a handcuff wrapped around his wrist and it was attached to the frame of the bed he was currently lying on. Shepard began to question whether or not to break his way free from his current situation or lie there in wait. Seconds turned to minutes and at this point he was moreover, getting anxious. No one had come in to check on him, nor had there been a single sound outside the door. He brought up his hands and realized what he'd just done. His right hand had a handcuff around it, and that it wasn't attached to the bed frame.

'I just... what?'

Shepard unconsciously broke his way free from his 'chains', allowing him to now flex his tense muscles.

As he breathed in, he felt a strange familiar feeling along with it. He brought his now free hand up to his face and realized that his gasmask was still on. Normally one would remove it but, in this case, he supposed his captors left it on him. His eyes traveled down and he noticed that he only had his tank top and pants on, his boots and everything else was missing. Now he knew something was wrong since they took almost everything else, _but_ his gasmask. He quickly surveyed the room and took notice of everything that was there. A few windows here and there, and two doors, one that was closed and another that lead into what looked to be a bathroom of sorts. On the table sitting next to the bathroom door though was the familiar items that he knew belonged to him.

One was his PCV vest sitting on the table, and what was strange was his desert eagle was sitting atop of it as well. While he knew it was unloaded and there wasn't any ammo to begin with, normally one would take away one's weapons. On next to the gun though was a folder, one thing that he knew wasn't with him when he crashed. His boots were sitting next to the table on the ground as well. Taking account of his short freedom, he stood up from the bed and walked over to where his equipment was at.

Before grabbing anything else, he took ahold of the folder now seeing that it was labeled _'confidential'._ He had absolutely no idea of what it was, so the next logical thing to do was to open it up.

Inside were pictures of those same girls, adding in a few others. Their names were listed just like that of a case file of someone. Labels that read ' _Team JNPR', 'Team CFVY',_ and _'Team SSSN'._ Shepard stared at the tabs, clearly confused on what exactly the strange lettering meant. Deciding to worry about it later he began to read and decided to start with a tab labeled ' _Team RWBY'._

Inside, the first one to appear was a young, black haired girl with silver eyes. Following the order, he began to read the other lines. Her name was Ruby Rose, and she was clearly female, current age of sixteen and was born on October 31st... Shepard took it that this world had the same dates as Earth. Eye color was clearly silver, stands at a height of 5'2 (1.57 meters for those who wanted a different answer). He skimmed the rest of information, seeing those who are related and such. Something about a semblance being speed? She is a super-child god dammit.

'Why? I don't need all of this, I'm not Black Ops, I was in the HECU, not that shady crap. Those guys were crazy.'

He flipped to the next page.

'Weiss Schnee... Why... Why is there always a rich girl?'

Shepard ran his finger down the page and stopped at the small note beneath the name.

'What's up with these nicknames? Princess? Snow Angel? Ice Queen? I knew it. She's a _'cold bitch'…_ Shepard let out a small chuckle.

Age is eighteen at the current moment, clearly female, and also left handed. 5'3(1.6 meters), so not that much taller than Ruby... wait, that says in heels... why? More ridiculous family members who are not on a need to know basis. Semblance has something to do with glyphs, does that mean she is also associated with hieroglyphics or something?

Shepard flipped the page again.

'Oh...Oooooooh. While Blondie and Firecracker could make some sense, what is up with _Sunny Little Dragon_? That's something a father would name like... a literal dragon? Ok Yang Xiao Long, let's see what you've got.

Another one at eighteen. Was Ruby just bumped into a team she shouldn't have? Again, female, and would you look at that, she's right handed. Standing taller than the others at a clear 5'8(1.73 meters), and that hair is labeled as 'Bright-gold'. Right, that's not bright yellow.

'Oh, that's interesting. She's sisters with Ruby not that I can see the... oh, paternal half-sister. That makes much more sense.'

Now the semblance is what catches Shepard's attention. Drawing strength from hits, a theory that he plays upon in his head before speaking out loud.

"Why would that even be a good idea? You could just literally slice off an arm and there you have it, their armless and it was in a single hit. Basically, a twofer, she's not stronger, and she doesn't have an arm and is weaker by that extent!"

Shepard annoyingly flipped to the next page.

'What? These are the strangest by far. _Kitty? My Darling?_ Is she involved with some strange people with kinks? You're clearly not ready to step into that field... Blake Belladonna.'

Not surprised, she is currently at the age of eighteen as well. Female, wow. This is a new one, she's supposedly a 'Faunus'.

'Is that what they call those animal cosplayers here? _Faunus? '_

Taller than the other two at a good 5'6(1.68 meters). Her semblance is "Shadow". Shepard looked at the paper questioningly.

'How can a power be a literal shadow?' He pointed behind him for his own amusement. 'I have a shadow to, so does that mean I am also a super-powered individual?' He turned around with his arms spread before nodding his head and continued reading. 'Didn't think so.' More family stuff that I shouldn't worry about... I'm just not getting why this is even here? I don't even want to be here!' A few more seconds past before speaking out his latest discovery.

"RWBY is the team name and the letters are the first letters of their name... makes sense now... somewhat."

Before Shepard could continue onto the next tab that read _JNPR,_ a couple of voices sounded near the door that lead to the room. He quickly closed the folder and grabbed ahold of his gun. He can't use it to shoot anyone, but a gun still looks like a gun, and in that instance, is considered to be loaded and dangerous. He dashed over to the door, hugging the side that the door opened to. The voices got louder and louder before he could hear them much clearer.

"I'm telling you Quinn, that _Thing_ is still asleep. There's nothing to worry about, not like he'll jump up and pull some crazy attack on us."

The door was wide open now and the two voices were now in the room. Shepard acted and sprung out from behind the door, causing the two to turn around and face him. They both looked equal in size so he decided either one would work as a hostage. The one he could tell that was a least a good two steps away from him was the one that had to go down first. Shepard quickly remembered his training of the _'Line System'*_ and immediately took ahold of their arm. His fist quickly flew into their face before he proceeded to twisting the arm while still outstretched. With a quick reverse swipe of his leg, they were already falling backwards and their face was met with another impact, this time from the butt of his gun.

Before the other could even react, he was already behind them with his knife to their throat and his gun pointed at the one that was still recovering from his quick succession of blows. Now taking in the time to look at them, he saw there was yet another pair of ears, this one being much larger, like that of a bunny. He questioned slightly on how they recovered so fast, but he saw that there was in fact blood coming from the nose, a successful hit on his part.

He walked his way in front of the open door, his hostage who he could now tell was female, still in his grasp and his gun still trained on the 'bunny boy'. There wasn't even a struggle from her which he could understand if they understood the situation as well, but even the boy was quiet, the look on his face still one of worry. Shepard took a few more steps back and glanced to his left, and then right, and what he saw there changed his entire situation.

His gasmask eye visors were a blood red and spreading out from the edges of it from his neck and to the side of his head were deep red and purple veins running down his neck and spreading only as far as his shoulders. For only a moment his grip lessened and his saw his mistake in this moment. The girl he had held in lock easily flipped him over, knocking the knife out of his hand and sending him sliding across the floor. He quickly made his way back to his feet, the pain he expected to feel practically non-existent. He held out the gun once more, not sure on who to direct it towards now seeing on how both of them have him at the disadvantage. He glanced at his knife and cursed to himself as it was now being picked up by the girl who was looking it over with curiosity.

Shepard desperately wanting to escape at this point, and with it solve what the hell was going on with him.

'This has got to be some kind of alien sickness or something of the sort. I already understand that I'm not on Earth, so it has got to be my body adjusting to the planet or something, yeah, that's it.'

He took another step back, feeling the wall directly behind him. Shepard cursed again before speaking up.

"You better back up and start explaining what the hell you did to me!"

Instead of listening to him, the two just shared a now worried glance and the girl took a step forward. In her hand was a glass of water. This clearly confused Shepard seeing on how he wasn't feeling particularly parched or anything of the sort. Before he could speak again, a new figure stepped out from the door, and this scared Shepard. A tall, very muscular man with a beard like no other stepped into the room, his height easily dwarfing Shepard's. He wore an open violet coat with a white fur trim, and on his exposed chest was quite a patch of hair. There was a large, silver metal buckle that wrapped around his waist over a sash the same color as his coat. On his shoulder was a large silver metal spaulder like one out medieval movies that knights wore.

The man took another step forward and the two others stepped to the side out of his way allowing him to walk directly towards Shepard. He kept his gun trained on the monster of a man as he continued his way towards him, all while Shepard was thinking on how he was going to survive this situation.

'He's going to try something, and while I would love to stop him, I've already screwed myself. All he has to do is get one hand on me and I'm finished. Goodbye alien world, hello afterlife that could possibly contain the aliens I slaughtered at Black Mesa; absolutely fantastic.'

The man took another step forward and his hand started to reach for Shepard. He attempted to pull the trigger of his gun, clearly stating the fact that it was indeed empty from the loud click that emanated throughout the room. When the man's hand fell on his shoulder, he was expecting to have it crushed in an instant, but instead was met with something entirely different. A large pain started to emanate from his head as he stumbled with his back to the wall, realizing that the towering man just headbutted him.

A now empty hand went to his head, allowing the gun to fall to the ground with a clank as Shepard managed to maintain his stance and raised his eyes to stare at the man who was now staring at him with a slightly confused look. Shepards hands shot out and grabbed the man's coat, attempting to bring himself lower, but clearly failing. There was no reaction from the man as Shepard did so. In a swift movement, Shepard launched himself, slamming his forehead into the man, causing him to stumble back, Shepard also doing so as he collapsed to one knee while speaking in pain.

"That's... a headbutt." He held his head with both free hands now. 'Ohhh god why did I do that!? Now it hurts more than before!'

As he lifted his head once more to see the damage he hoped he'd done, he just saw the man staring at him once again, no change in his attitude except for the smile that sat on his face. He turned his back to Shepard and walked over to where his belongings still laid, this time speaking up.

"You're rather interesting, aren't you? I'm not going to straight up ask you who, or what you are and why you're here. But rather, you can explain yourself." He picked up the folder and turned around, holding it up for Shepard to see. "This wasn't here when we brought you back; now before I open this and see whatever _'confidential'_ information is in here, I'd rather you do it." He tossed the folder towards Shepard, it sliding its way towards his kneeled position.

He stared towards the man before grabbing ahold of the folder and standing up and stumbling a slight bit from his most recent head impact. When he finally made way to his feet, he held the folder slightly in front of him, speaking with up most clarity.

"This... This is my job. While not what I would consider the best..."

A small voice in the back of his head quickly reminded him of what would come if he were to ignore such things. ' _I'm sure you can imagine there are worse alternatives...'_

He shook of the memory and dropped the folder to his side. After removing himself of his headache, he took notice of the lack of bodies within the room. The two eared individuals have left the room, leaving only himself and the large man to one another. His attention to the lack of bodies was seen by the large man who spoke up to clear the confusion.

"Don't worry about them, they were supposed to be here to only bring you, well, you see it spread across the floor now." He let his hands outline the mess that Shepard made when he attacked the two. A flipped tray with a multiple assortment of food, all of which still looked somewhat appetizing even when spread across the floor; though to his surprise, Shepard felt no hungrier than he was when he crashed, almost as if he didn't need it. "Now if you would get to explaining yourself. You can't use the excuse of being bedridden any longer."

Shepard tossed the folder onto the bed and after clearing his throat from a lingering cough, he spoke up. "My name is Corporal Adrian Shepard of the United States Military. I have already determined that I am not on my planet of Earth any longer, and at the current moment I am unsure of what planet I reside on. As to the specifics of why I am here, I do not know If I have the clearance to share the exact classified information within that folder, and that it is only a simple task of protecting who they deem necessary."

Silence floated throughout the room after he finished his statement, the man's expression still unwavering. He began to walk over to Shepard, this time turning his attention to the folder and grabbing ahold of it. Shepard made a slight attempt to reach for the folder as it was taken away, but he knew the fruit of his potential labor would have been pointless. The man flipped it open to where Shepard stopped, on Blake Belladonna. The man turned to face him, his expression slightly changed from what it was previously, one to confusion but slight anger as well.

"Why does she need to be protected?" His hand slapped the folder.

Shepard noticed there was clear hostility in his voice. He took it as a sign that he knew her in some way.

"I'm not entirely sure. Just like her, I've never meet any one of those individuals within that folder."

"And you're supposed to protect them? You?"

Shepard took that as a slight insult but pushed it off. "The specifics of my abilities are not necessary to be shared with a civilian like yourself. At the current moment you are affiliating yourself with a mission that you could possibly endanger, alongside the lives of those within that folder. I'll ask you to forget all that you saw within there."

The man shared a glance with Shepard before glancing down at the folder once more, soon letting out a loud laugh startling him.

"Civilian. Corporal Shepard was it? If what you say is true, and that you are not from this world, then I have no qualms with speaking with you. I should assure you that I am no civilian, and that the place you are is somewhere that you should not have to worry yourself to much with. At the current moment, you are on the continent of Menagerie, the homeland of us Faunus."

Shepard took a mental note on what they were called. All he remembered of the aliens at Black Mesa was that they were labeled as _Xen._ He had no clue if they were as intelligent as these _Faunus_ were, but at least these were much less violent and much more welcoming than the last.

"My name Is Ghira Belladonna, the Chieftain of Menagerie. As I said before, we have no qualms between us, and from the looks of it you're not here to cause us any sort of harm as well."

Shepard blanked on the man's words. Right now, the leader of this area, or rather entire continent. The name is what caught him off guard the most. He remembered back to the folder and the page of Blake more specifically. Underneath the family, he saw his name, and he was listed as her father. While in normal situations, one would panic upon meeting the father of the individual you were just tasked with protecting, but this wasn't normal in anyway. Ghira clearly had no clue as to why she would need to be protected, and this meant that none of the others would either.

In the moment Shepard finished his thought, he could've sworn that within the folder, a single page was added at the very end of the folder. He decided to ignore it before he could get ahold of it once again.

"Since we've cleared up this matter in a civilized manner, could I ask you to take off that mask of yours? I prefer to look at my guests in the face."

Shepard was confused at this point. The man now known as the Chieftain of an entire continent just found out that his daughter is within a stranger's folder of people that he's said that he's supposed to protect and in no way is he showing any sort of hostility towards him. Either the people of this world are too trusting or there is something that both parties are clearly missing.

To add onto the fact, he asked him to remove his mask, one thing they could've done to begin with when he was brought to this location. Shepard hesitated to raise his hand to remove it, but with a push from his consciousness, he allowed his hands to make their way to his head and start lifting the mask off before a single loud knock interrupted him. His hands quickly fell and he saw Ghira turn around as well in the direction of the sound. He turned back to Shepard and gestured towards him.

"Stay here. I'll be back as soon as this is settled."

Shepard simply nodded his head as he watched the large man walked out of the room, setting the folder on the same end table as it was found on. As soon as the door closed, he made quick work of picking up his gun and knife. He ran over to the end table and took one look at the folder before deciding to come back to it, putting on his boots and holster straps. He left the PVC laying there, unsure of how much time it would take to even make sure if it was still working.

He cracked the door and began to make his way down the hallway, stopping before two large doors of which he could hear voices on the other side.

"Kali, who is it?"

He cracked the door slightly, and upon doing so saw the back of Ghira, but the feet of two others beyond him. Ghira's hands fell to his side and he began to walk forward, allowing Shepard to get a clearer look on who was there. With a quick look, he saw two women, one of which had an arm around the other. One of them looked strikingly similar to the other, but the younger one of the two Shepard immediately recognized. He made sure to get on last look in before dashing away from the door and back to where he left the folder.

Closing the door behind him, he picked up the folder and flipped through it again, landing on the last page. There she was, Blake Belladonna, one of the individuals he was tasked with 'protecting' or something of the sort. He glanced back at the door, hearing the voices of the three and one other he didn't catch. He placed the folder back down and slid the PVC on, the familiar weight coming back to him. A few mandatory beeps later, and the PVC HUD was online and he could see everything. While there weren't any shields, his health was most certainly, at one-hundred percent. A warning appeared next to his health, one of a poison in his system.

He waited for the vest to administer the antidote and in an instant, Shepard felt a tranquil wave flush over him, his entire self-feeling a sense of calm, very far from the feeling he had earlier when he noticed the strange adorations across his body. He made his wave over to the same mirror, immediately noticing the difference in the reflection in front of him.

His mask visors were no longer red but the same luminescent green, and no longer was there the dark colored veins running on his body. The _'corruption'_ supposedly gone... Shepard looked back at his past word. _Corruption,_ the one thing he was most certainly not thinking of when he first saw the veins, almost as if something replaced the definition of his circumstances within his own head. Allowing it to settle, he took this chance to plan his next move.

The G-man said that his old equipment would be delivered to him in time, how much Shepard thought, he wasn't sure of. All he knew is from what he had experience before is that wherever he was, it would be there when it finally came; how exactly, Shepard had no clue.

After sliding his gun into its holster, he let his eyes wonder onto his right hand, wondering if he'd see it again, seeing one how it was technically part of his equipment during his 'stay' at Black Mesa. He left the experience to the side and creeped his way out the door, carrying the folder in his hand. While he had a mission to follow, he need equipment before doing anything, and only one place had that, and that was the fallen Osprey.

Shepard made his way past the pair of large doors and then out the second pair, the bright sun hitting his visors making it hardly a problem. He made his way down the stairs and began walking up the path where many other buildings sat. He stopped moving and stood to the side when two hooded individuals made their way past him down to the residence where he was just at. They shared a glance between the three, the latter being one of curiosity while Shepards was unknown behind his mask to the onlookers. They dropped their glances and continued forward.

'Tails and ears, hopefully there's not some sort of crazy resistance here or anything; just more problems in the end.'

He pushed onwards, unaware to what would lie ahead.

 **Hey hey hey, it's another chapter finished. I can't think of anything to say besides that the next time you hear from me I'll be in an entirely different state at school... so... happy to have you wonderful read this. Comment and such if you'd like. Bye Bye.**


	11. Blue Shift Redacted- New Position

**It's that time again, and I hope you're ready for what's going to come. Adrian Shepard's journey is nowhere complete, and his tendencies to do the right thing aren't done either. Gordon is a man on a mission he doesn't want to be on, and he's not stopping anytime soon. There's a certain someone I want to visit again though, a man that doesn't get much love. To those that I didn't respond to of course last chapter.**

Donovan: **I apologize, really. I haven't made the move to previous chapters to fix that little bit and add (translations or side bars) to make it easier to read. Sorry once again.**

Elusive Prey: **I just can't leave out certain individuals from Black Mesa that proved a will to survive and push forward, it'd be a shame not too.**

Kurato: **I expected certain people to enjoy other perspectives than just Gordon's hence why I am doing what I'm doing.**

Rio Skyron: **Thank you very much. I plan on not stopping any time soon.**

Guest: **I've got to say are you possibly glancing into my mind on what's to come? You're on the right track reader, and I hope to get more action into this as it goes on.**

 **Hope you all enjoy.**

… **...**

Barney Calhoun is what many on Earth would call a revolutionary leader, one that helped lead humanity against the ever-looming interdimensional alien race known as the Combine that previously enslaved them. A fearless warrior in battle and one that could be looked to in the time of need.

Surprisingly enough, he was that kind of man when in front of others, confirming their thoughts and boosting morals. He survived the hell that was Black Mesa, and continued the fight to City 17, all while under the looming threat of a single thing; age.

That was right, Barney Calhoun was getting old, and along with his body, reflexes, senses, and mind, the most thing effected by this was his patience. Barney would continue to fight the Combine no matter the cost, but just like his receding hairline, his patience was wearing thin when it came to aliens in general. Going through Black Mesa he got used to doing what he had to do, be it shooting, or beating down anything that looked threatening to him, and most of the time was a worse shot.

The first time he saw a Vorigant after Black Mesa, he almost strangled the alien to death only to be stopped whenever it spoke to him, also the fact that he was sent flying by the electric shot of the alien.

Time passed and after working alongside the Vorigant's for so long, Barney got used to them that he considered them part of Earth against the Combine.

His opinions on other aliens remained the same; if it tried to kill him then it was worth shooting at. He hated the headcrabs and their parasitic nature of not only hopping on one's head but taking over the entire body as well. It disgusted him honestly.

The Combine weren't not any better, Barney disliked them even more only because they shot right back at him without hesitation, that and the fact that the technological advantage they had with Striders and other abominations made his job much harder.

After all these dealings with aliens and such, his patience was currently the lowest it could ever be, and to stack onto it was a certain event that he was dealing with currently.

On Barney was the resistance fatigues set with an armored vest like the one he had back in Black Mesa along with a shotgun strap filled with shells across his chest. Held in his hands directed in front of him was a refitted Spas-12 with an underbarrel laser sight attached and strapped to his thigh was an old fashioned 44. Magnum Revolver, a classic he enjoyed carrying around.

He had a pair of broken sunglasses and a frown on his face. If anyone were to walk into the situation that he had himself currently in, it would possibly be one of the most confusing ones ever. Standing in front of him was a massive black bear, or at least he thought it was a bear. This 'bear' was very different from the black bears he'd encountered before; it's black fur didn't even look like fur, but more like a shadowy substance.

White plating covered it like it was an armor of sorts, and the same white color adorned its claws and teeth that were being barred towards him. The biggest difference that stood out to Barney were the two, deep red irises that were staring at him with the intent to slaughter, to consume, to destroy the very soul he had. That and the fact that it took a shotgun blast to its back only seconds before and was hardly even fazed as the white plating ate most of it. He wasn't looking to hunting season.

 _15 Minutes Before_

Although Barney wasn't the fittest, smartest, or even the best looking in the Resistance, he was someone that could be depended on. Right now, was one of those times. Alyx contacted him while he was out with a scouting squad alongside four others.

Maranda Louis the medic, Brandon and Henry Lewinski the twin pointmen quite literally, then there was Joe Gail the radio operator. Among the five of them Barney was the most capable with any sort of combat experience, the other four being part of the Resistance for only about a month. While he didn't have a problem with showing the ropes to new recruits, all they ever did was walk around for a few days, occasionally spot or get into a firefight with some combine, then return to base; every time there was new recruits.

Barney found little to no excitement from these things the more he did them, but today he considered his lucky day. A distress signal came from out in the highlands; a group of scientists, R&D spooks at that. When asked about why they were so far out, Alyx only replied with,

" _They requested it themselves. Said that the equipment they were working on could bring more danger if it they were in a populated area."_

So, that's why they were heading currently to a secluded R&D lab that would or could contain highly dangerous weapons; one hell of a field trip from Barney's perspective.

A few more minutes and they were standing in front of what they could only describe as a massacre. The first thing that they saw were two bodies torn in half lying at the base of the stairs into the facility, another limped through the window.

Louis was the first to make a move towards the mess in front of them only to be stopped as a scream tore through the air.

"NO NO NO! Get away from me dammit! Go back to- AHHHHHHHH!"

The sound of flesh ripping and bones snapping resounded in the air reaching the five, only for it to be followed by the sound of Gail emptying the contents of his stomach onto the ground behind them.

Barney was the first to speak up after the screaming ceased. "Let's move up! Lewinski brothers, circle around the back and make sure nothing gets through out. Gail, clean yourself up and watch out backs. Louis, you're with me."

The ones that could not their head did so while Gail let out a small yelp to confirm his order. They started to move with Barney and Louis heading up the stairs and the brothers rushing around each side of the building.

Leaning on either side of the door, they nodded to one another an Barney moved to the front of the door kicking it, the door flying off its hinges and sliding on the ground inside. Louis was the first to enter the building with her gun raised and Barney right behind her doing the same.

A slight hum of the lights hung in the air while the mess in front of them looked worse than outside. Slash marks sat on the wall while signs of tearing rested in the ceiling. Blood of what could only be the scientists was strewn about the walls like a twisted painting.

The sound of breathing caught their attention and made the two turn around, and upon a closer look a scientist was leaning up against the wall with his torso having multiple deep slash wounds across it.

Louis ran over to the man on the wall and kneeled next to him, pulling of her backpack full of medical supplies. Barney turned back around and kept his shotgun raised.

"Cal…Calhoun…" The rough sounding scientist calling his name made him turn around, the man looking terrible as blood came from his mouth. "Close…it…lifeforms…to…dangerous…" He coughed up a glob of blood and immediately slumped over on his side, the sign of life completely gone from his eyes. Louis raised her hand to his neck and only glanced towards Barney, shaking her head in the process.

Barney only glanced at her before shaking his head. He'd seen death to often by this point, but he also knew that they couldn't brood over it at this moment. "We've got to keep moving, whatever got them, it's still in here."

She nodded and got to her feet, readying her weapon once more. They continued forward through the torn-up science facility, the scene gradually getting worse as more bodies lined the walls and their bloodied hand prints crawling along them. The only thing they saw that was off were two large bloodied footprints that were much larger than anything they'd seen before.

After forcing their way through two sets of broken security doors, a new sound came to their ears, one that Barney had heard and knew to well. The sound of crackling energy resounded through the air, practically ripping the air itself apart. A frown formed itself on his face and Barney pushed forward, his grip much tighter than before.

Sitting in a large rounded room was a floating anomaly he'd never seen before, or rather this version of it. It was no longer the sickly green he'd seen before, instead it was a multitude of colors like that of a rainbow giving off a sense of sick beauty, the electrical stretches crackling in every direction. Barney started to walk towards the energy display, but after a single step, a large powerful force slammed into the side of him sending him flying into the wall.

He heard Louis shout out his name "Calhoun!" Then was immediately cut off.

'What the hell hit me?'

Barney brought his hand up to his head and noticed a small gash that was bleeding only slightly, along with his now broken sunglasses. He lifted himself off the ground and steadied himself, swinging his weapons up into his hands. Now he was staring at a black and white blurred figure in front of him, the only thing he could see clearly was Louis being held up in the air bleeding with a large black mass through her chest.

Barney pumped the shotgun and shouted, "I'm going to give you the honor I never gave your mother." and fired.

The pellets dug themselves in the back of the beast. A loud growl came from the beast as it turned around, throwing Louis to the side, her life already having left her body.

Barney was back to staring at the beast, the shadow bear standing in front of him. Barney pumped the shotgun again and let loose another blast, the pellets hitting the chest of the bear, still only earning a slight growl.

It took a step forward, earning another pump from his shotgun as he fired into it. Barney let out a yell as it continued to push forward. "Just fall you stupid ass alien!"

The bear raised its massive claw and brought it down, only for it to be somewhat stopped by Barney's shotgun. The weight from the swing bending the shotgun inwards in his hands. Barney through the gun into the face of the bear as he ran and then slid through its legs, pulling out his revolver at the same time.

In front of him was a stand with a large switch on it; a line coming back into his mind.

' _Close…it…'_

Barney smiled 'The off switch- '.

He heard a growl, then a mass flew directly over him. A large desk collided with the stand, sending it flying in two, leaving it shattered on the floor. Barney quickly got up and turned around, firing three shots into the bear. "Why is my luck the bad one whenever Gordon isn't here!" He shouted.

Firing off another shot, he noticed a familiar red barrel sitting in the corner of the room. He made a dash towards the portal the lumbering bear directly behind him. A quick turn of the foot and he was now jumping over the bear, switching spots in front of the energy ball with the bear.

Landing on his feet, he grabbed ahold of the barrel and rolled it towards the bear. It stopped on the bears foot, Barney aiming directly at him. The bear started to take a step towards him but stopped when he pulled the hammer back.

"Uh uh. I know what you're thinking. "Did he fire six shots or only five?" Well to tell you the truth in all this excitement I kinda lost track myself. But being this is a .44 Magnum, the most powerful handgun in the world and would blow your head clean off, you've gotta ask yourself one question: "Do I feel lucky?" Well, do ya, bear… punk?" **[1]** Barney smiled. Not once did he think he could use that line, but here he was now, staring down a killer alien instead of a human murder. All in all, it felt even better.

The bear tilted its head in curiosity after Barney spoke, only for him to pull the trigger… and missed. The shot didn't hit the alien bear, and because of it the bear gave a toothy grin towards Barney, almost like it was laughing at him.

Barney kept his grin, speaking again. "Listen up alien-Yogi bear, I don't have a picnic basket for you, but I do have a special lesson to teach you about humans," He flipped out a small stick with a red tip, a match. Holding it up to the bear, earning a tilt of its head. He held his fingers to the tip and snapped, creating a flame at the end of it. He spoke while holding the match between the two of them, "We're ten times more capable and creative when it comes to surviving this kind of bullshit."

Time slowed as Barney flicked the match from his hand, directly towards the line of fuel that was spilling from the hole in the red barrel next to the bears feet. It didn't even have time to move an inch as the lit match fell closer and closer to the liquid.

There was a spark, then a flame as it engulfed the bear; truly giving it the appearance of a charred alien bear. The flame continued to stretch along the fuel line till it hit the barrel. Barney held up his arms to block the incoming blast, but then everything turned into a flurry of colors that stretched and crackled around Barney.

The room that once held the two was now empty and covered in flames, and only a single transparent crystal sitting on a stand.

…...

Barney wasn't dead, instead he was floating with a familiar feeling surrounding him, one that he saw happen to a close friend the same day they met; teleportation. His entire body felt like it was being turned inside out as everything around him flew by faster than he could process.

Only seconds passed to him and Barney was now on his knees in a grassy yard with the sun shining above him. His head had an aching sensation as he tried to stand up, only to fall again as little droplets of blood fell onto the ground. Bringing his hand up, he felt that he was still bleeding.

"Damn bears; whoever made those damn things are going to get a complaint from me for sure, and maybe a boot up the ass."

Clambering to his feet, Barney kept his hand to his head to slow the bleeding. Thankfully to him it wasn't that large of a cut. Blinking the remaining colors from his eyes, the view around him became much clearer.

On his right was a large house surrounded by a forest and standing in front of him was a man around his age, one with much more hair that was a golden blonde. The two shared a glance with one another until Barney spoke up with a hint of surprise in his voice. "You're the guy in the T.V, or at least on the other side of it!"

The man pointed back towards Barney. "Takko, from T.V?" **[2]**

"No, not that T.V guy. You know what, forget it. Is Gordon ok?"

The man's eyes widened. "You mean that questionable scientist that looks like he has a lot more problems then what he actual says he shows? Last time I heard, he was still on his way to Haven with- "

Barney cut in with a drawn-out sigh. Placing his hands on his sides and stretching out his back, he spoke. "Thank god. At least she'll be happy to hear- "Then he was gone; leaving Taiyang Xiao-Long outside, alone, and most of all, confused.

Barney was flowing through the colors once again, his eyes barely getting used to the change. He couldn't even begin to describe what he saw flying past him, only a barrage of colors all the time. The feeling of his stomach climbing started to come once again but was calmed when Barney closed his eyes, only dampening the color splash that he was surrounded in.

Everything stopped again, and instead of falling to his knees, he landed on his feet only stumbling slightly. Around his was much different than the grassy field that he was previously in; this time in a much darker place than before, quite literally. Large castle like windows lined the walls, a dark gloomy feeling loomed all around him, giving him the chills as it felt as if it was haunted. The feeling of darkness crawled on his body, and he had to shake himself to rid of it.

The sound of voices behind him made him turn around, his gun raised towards the origin of the sound. A single voice sent a chill down his spine, the cold feeling retaining as he kept his finger on the trigger.

In his sight at the end of the large walkway leading up to what he could only describe as a throne stood four individuals. Three of which sat near the foot of the stairs leading up to the throne while the last one stood at the top looking out the windows.

While Barney couldn't see the three that well, his broken sunglasses darkening where they stood. He could tell that two of the three had strange colored hair; an emerald color of sorts while the other had silver. He almost took off his sunglasses when he was stopped by the same voice.

The feminine figure at the top was speaking, her voice spilling out ill intent.

"That man cannot be killed by your hands Cinder, nor those below you. In no way should you attempt to fight him, it would be a shame to lose you because of a warning you ignored." The figure turned around, giving full display of what they were. From where he was standing, red like veins wrapped on her pale white skin, her eyes deeper than the depths of hell, and they looked like they were staring directly towards him. A connection he took in immediately was that her eyes looked to like one that he recently burned to a crisp.

'That woman has the same eyes as the bear… mostly."

"I will take care of the one known as the _'One Free Man'_ and all those who follow him."

Barney's grip tightened as he switched his stance, turning sideways with the gun and arm stretched out, pointed towards the woman with his free hand at his side. He knew who she was talking about; only one man had a title like that, and Barney was partly responsible for it… only partially. He gritted his teeth, worry in his eyes. 'Screw his beer, Gordon owes me an entire bar after killing this bitch.'

He shouted towards the woman. "Hey alien bitch, planet Earth gives her regards!"

The three figures around her spun around only in time to see Barney pull the trigger… and an empty *clicking* resounded throughout the large empty room. The two younger looking ones had their hands reaching towards their weapons while the slightly older one had a look of shock, also a pretty messed up face. Silence stood between them but was interrupted by Barney throwing his gun onto the ground while shouting.

"You've got to be kidding me! Why does this happen today of all days; god dammit!" Then he was gone again in a bright multi-colored flash.

….

Barney's head was hurting, yet strangely enough it wasn't. He could feel the pain practically ripping itself out of his head, but it was immediately soothed by a cool wave of release. There wasn't any attempt to stop his fall this time like that last two times he appeared, and to add to it, there wasn't an array of colors before he arrived to… where ever he was.

He was sitting in a complete white room with a single steel door.

The table in front of him was a dull grey color, and on it sat a clear cup filled with what he could only describe as water. It sat perfectly still even as Barney lightly tapped the table leg with his foot; the absence of movement confusing him more than he thought it could.

Barney tried to stand up from the chair but at the attempt to do so, he found the lack of impulse to do so; his body ignoring any chance of his mind telling it what to do like it was its own entity. To his surprise, small movements like his leg tapping the table leg and his arm moving towards the cup were allowed, just any attempt to physically move wasn't allowed.

A click resounded in the room and his attention was drawn towards the door and its knob turning slowly. His eyes left the knob and focused on the crack that was beginning to appear in the door, only for it to slam shut once again, any sort of glance of the outside being denied.

"What kind of idiot does that?"

"The kind that has more important matters to attend too Mr. Calhoun."

His eyes widened as his attention flipped from the door to where the voice came from. His head spinning to face in front of him, now aware of what was there. Two individuals were sitting in front of him wearing black business suit, ones that he'd seen too many times at Black Mesa; the grey or blue colored tie the absence of any particles on them. These two were only different in one aspect, the one on the left had a white tie that seemed to glow with a sense of holiness. The other had a tie that resembled a sight he saw not that long ago, a shadowy black that spiraled in circles at various points.

His eyes moved from the suit and what he saw next made him rebound slightly in his chair. The two figures were missing their faces, or rather what lied there was a complete black slate. The lack of the faces sent many questions into Barney's mind, and at the same time didn't affect him in the slightest. This scared him, very, very much.

"Mr. Calhoun, we've taken notice- "

The other figure finished his sentence. Barney already knew that it was going to be like this. Their monotone voices draining the atmosphere around him.

" **Of your presence, and while the- "**

"Minimal change you made, it was something still."

Barney didn't know what to think at this point. What were these two faceless figures talking about; _'minimal change?'_ Just what were they talking about.

" **Of course, you're confused about the change Mr. Calhoun- "**

"And thus, we've brought said 'change' to your attention."

A clang came from the table in front of him and when he looked down he saw his 44. That he threw on the ground, but now it was on the table.

"What… What is going on?"

The two figures folded their hands simultaneously and began to speak again.

" **A proposition Mr. Calhoun- "**

"Is what we're offering you. A- "

" **Chance to become more involved with- "**

"Whom you've deemed an ally. The- "

" **One known as Doctor Gordon Freeman."**

'Oh great' thought Barney as his expression flattened. Of course, this had to do with Gordon, almost any extra terrestrial has to do with his glasses co-worker. Hell, if it had to do with the government it was Gordon as well.

"A simple task if what we've- "

" **Given you Mr. Calhoun. We hope- "**

"That you'll be able to complete such- "

" **A simple task that's been assigned."**

Barney started to open his mouth to ask what they were talking about, but a different sound came from the table. Glancing downward, his gun was now gone and in its place was a folder he'd seen very often around Black Mesa; a manila folder with the words classified on the front in large red letters.

"While not part of Dr. Freeman's company- "

" **We require a certain assurance that- "**

"He will not acquire all our assets and allow- "

" **Them more than what was bargained for."**

The folder opened and the first page he saw was a blank white page except for the words in black letters

 _The Four Maidens_

Barney didn't know what to make of those words, and as he reached for the folder, it quickly closed and disappeared in front of his eyes.

"We've already taken care of your- "

" **Transportation methods. No need to thank us."**

"Remember Calhoun, only a certain- "

" **Amount of time is allowed per visit."**

"Be wise with your choices."

" **And be sure to be prepared."**

He glanced towards the figures only to notice that they were gone just like they appeared, instantaneously.

" **Good** luck **Mr.** Calhoun, **and** best **of** luck. **Consider** yourself **rehired** Calhoun; **retirement** never **suited** you **anyways.** Appreciate **the** promotion."

….

The next moment Barney was sent flying backwards, slamming into the viewing window sending glass shards all around him, then falling to the ground. Fires were scattered around the room and the fire alarms were set off as well, the blaring of the sirens and water splashing on his face. "I don't see how Gordon does it. This stuff is nauseating…" His stomach started to get upset but was interrupted by the yelling of a voice over his walkie-talkie.

"Barney! Barney come in dammit! Combine are coming in on your position; either get out of there or get ready for a fight!"

Barney sighed as he made his way to his feet, stumbling rather heavily as he almost fell back onto the ground. He felt his way back to his face and grabbed ahold of his broken sunglasses, throwing them off to the side, seeing on how they were useless now; sad, he rather liked them while they lasted.

Turning around to where the large energy mass originally was, in its place now was a completely transparent crystal sitting on a pedestal. He only glared at it for a second before grabbing ahold of it and fitting it into his bag.

"Better with me than the Combine…"

Clicking his tongue, he walked over to the body of Louis and knelt picking up her gun and closing her eyes. Respect for the dead no matter the situation, especially for those on your side.

He rolled his shoulders as he stepped through the even more broken security doors, and gunfire could be heard outside of the building. Checking the bullets and feeling satisfied, he let out a sigh. "I'm too old for this crap, and since when did I ever retire?"

….

 _An hour of gunfights and running later_

Pushing his way through a metal door, the hinges creaking rather loudly from the pressure they were flung with. Two individuals turned their heads at the sound and walking through the door was none other than Barney, an annoyed look on his face.

The scientist known as Isaac Kleiner was the first to stand up and walk over to Barney while speaking. "I've got good news Calhoun, Gordon has- "

The good doctor was silenced as Barney held up a bag to the man. He pushed the bag out of his face and looked at Barney puzzled. "What's gotten into you Calhoun, and what was that- "

Barney pushed the bag into his arms and walked past the man before collapsing into a nearby chair, his entire body slumping into it. "Your good news can wait, whatever was at that lab should be the most important thing to focus on besides the Combine, otherwise we might have another invasion on our hands."

The doctor's eyes widened before he took the bag over to a nearby table and began to dig through the bag. The woman behind the doctor walked over to Barney the same look on her face. Her short brown hair was held back with a headband and her green eyes stared at the slouching man. Alyx Vance, the a now known Resistance leader in place of her father, Eli Vance.

"Barney, what are you talking about? What did you find at the lab, and what happened to those there? We lost comms with you for about an hour."

An hour? Barney began to understand what it was like to teleport like those before him, or at least experience that Gordon and Alyx experienced.

"Doctor, just promise me you won't ask to many questions."

Kleiner turned around, crystal in hand. "Calhoun, too many questions must be answered before you can request that. I'll contact those upon Remnant for this, I already had a feeling once I saw this, and I can guarantee that they'll gladly answer as well."

He walked towards a large white locker, and pulled out a small container in which he placed the crystal in. He quickly headed off into a separate room with it in hand and left the two by themselves. Alyx kept her eyes on Barney, and he just sat there slouched in the chair.

"You're not going to tell me what you saw there will you?"

Barney waited for a moment and spoke. "Gordon is doing ok…"

Her expression changed to one of surprise, and while she mouthed complete confusion. Barney just nodded his head as she turned around while muttering something under her breath about hitting someone or something, leaving Barney to his own accord. Glancing over at his bag that was now on the table, a certain manila folder caught his eye as it peaked out from the bag.

He frowned. "I guess I wasn't just seeing hell. It was really there… Shit"

Barney got up from his chair and walked over to his bag, pulling the folder out, and a chain as well. His eye fell on the plastic piece that was attached to the chain along with the picture and title that was beneath it. His frown became much deeper as he read it, before jamming it into his pocket and slipping the folder under his arm. The card still hanging from his pocket.

 _Barney Calhoun_

 _Atlas/Vale/Mistral/Vacuo Hunter Specialist_

 _Restrictions: None_

 _Weapon of Choice: To Be Determined_

The picture was the face of Barney in the white room appearing more confused than ever. There's never a time of rest for those involved in Black Mesa.

….

 **Hello everyone, once again. Surprised? Shouldn't be. My mind is literally everywhere at this moment, and I can't contain it. While writing this, I had an entire separate document open writing the next chapter, which just might mean that it will be released somewhat sooner. I'm losing it… only slightly. Those that have noticed little markings here and there throughout the earlier chapters; those are marks and reference that I meant to make but completely forgot about when I finished the chapter.**

 **[1]: Dirty Harry my readers, a wonderful movie by the way. I felt like if anyone, Barney would quote this if anything.**

 **[2]: A certain line from a podcast called** _ **Adventure Zone**_ **where a group of grown men play DnD. It's fantastical, and I'd recommend it heavily for those who hadn't listened to it yet.**

 **Go ahead and say what you'd like. I need criticism/encouragement/just about anything… I can't get it from those around me currently like before, so I'm only slightly starving for it. Thank you for putting up with the mediocre writing I submit every now and then. Nothing else besides that, Love yall, have a good day, or night.**


	12. A Trip To Black Mesa: Ruby Rose

**Hello everyone, and welcome as for I have returned once again to deliver what many have enjoyed so far-a story to read and envelop once self in; or something like that. You're choice really. Let's not delay any, longer shall we?**

 _Kurato:_ **Yes, a player of sorts. A piece 'unregistered' by those who play the game. That'll be all really.**

 _Rio Skyron:_ **Barney needs love, he's been through as much hell as the rest of the crew, and I just enjoy him as a character in general.**

 _Elusive Prey:_ **The comments are still appreciated, very much so.**

 _Guest:_ **Funny thing about Gods is that they can take on mostly any shape or form that they wish to appear in front of. This case being Barney, and the one thing he's used to seeing when he was at Black Mesa; men in suits.**

 _Fizz:_ **N-n-no. Close in a sense, and wow, you're putting a lot of thought into this, I appreciate it. If I were to just give the answer, what kind of fiendish writer would I be if I did do that? A pretty bad one to be honest. Keep on trying if you'd like, it's enjoyable to see such things.**

 **Enjoy**

* * *

Sitting in a black abyss, nothing in sight as an ever-ending tone of loneliness seeps into your mind. Your body is the lightest it has ever been, and with it the feeling of floating. You yourself know that something is wrong, yet the very feeling of wrongness is absent in your mind. You try to raise your hand, an attempt left fruitless as the hand you feel moving isn't in front of your eyes, or that the fact that the eyes you see out of are not even there to begin with. A sense of emotions flow over your system, and then nothing. In that minimal second you felt ever possible emotion you could have even begun to understand. Depression, vexation, satisfaction, abandonment, loathing, infatuation, resentment; all of which drowned you in the very feelings that you once tried to hide within yourself at the most opportune times.

Returning from the overflow of emotions, your mind wanders to the figure walking out of a strange door in, what you could only guess, to be in front of you. A suited figure that looked deathly pale with green eyes that would stare towards you in any situation and wouldn't change the slightest.

You want to move, to shout out towards the man and question what the very thing that is causing this mess to happen with you, the one that is simply… not there. Yet you can do nothing as he approaches, suitcase in hand. Fear begins to encroach upon your mind, the only emotion you can feel even though it's so small, it stills lies within you. Your nonexistent legs attempt to carry you backwards, yet they cause you to stumble in the weightless abyss, and still there is no movement from you.

The man had finally stopped, and his eyes are locked with what you can only guess to be yours. He speaks.

"I see you've finally awake…" A loud scratch of static blares through your false ears, blocking out the very words you want to hear and recognize, yet fail to. "While a time of rest is… admirable, the time for recognizing one's potential has come to… bear fruit." A smile crept onto the man's face, a spine-chilling feel crept along your body, the man's eyes losing all sense of color and becoming complete black orbs of nothing, sharing the same abysses that surrounded your being.

"Enjoy your time 'KRSSHHHH' -at Black Mesa" The man was gone, and so was the very abyss you were sitting in, lost in every possible way.

* * *

The five of them sat around a lit campfire, the crackling of the flame being dampened by the sound around it, the voices of the individual's laughter. Smiles sat on their faces, childish smiles that still maintained a sense of innocence in their ever-growing life style of danger, yet still they held onto the part of their self being. Not all smiled this smile, all but one did so. A man whose eyes carried more than any one normal man could carry with their entire self, yet he did, so often at that.

Gordon Freeman did not smile, nor did he frown; he just stared at the endless flame that carried the souls of humanity through the endless cycle of what some would call life.

A small poke of the stick he was holding and one of the logs collapsed in on itself, the embers flying upwards into the sky, freeing the feeling of life into the night sky, yet his expression did not waver.

"Hey Gordon?"

His attention on the fire was broken away by the interruption of one of the children. He lifted his head and stared at the four, looking to who called his name, and instead found the four staring at him. Unsure of what to say, he stumbled on his words.

"Y-yes?" He slightly cursed at himself. He wasn't some nervous child, he was a grown man, and this should be able to respond to such questions like one without stuttering… he thought.

"Is everything ok? You look… sorta out of it?"

Gordon saw who was speaking now, Jaune Arc. The rather timid blonde-headed boy, who in time was showing growth to his actions. A smile slowly crept onto his face, the distraction of flame taken away from him. "Yes. I'm just fine, just remembering… old times."

Old times, yes; his time at the cursed workplace known as Black Mesa where his life turned into something entirely different. He didn't wish to remember it, he was forced to, every single day of his life.

"You mean where you came from? If you wouldn't mind, could you tell us about it?"

Gordon glanced slightly over, and to his surprise, the silent one, Lie Ren was the one to ask the essential question that he wanted to avoid. A sigh escaped from his lungs as he dipped his head towards the ground. Before any of them could try and talk to him, he spoke with his head still down.

"It… it started off rather nice. Just a constant routine of handling hazardous materials that would k- "Gordon stopped himself. He knew that his profession wasn't normal in any sort of way. Handling materials that could easily kill any sort of life just by getting close to it was normal to him? Sadly, it was, and because of it, it would have been said just like that.

"My life there was simple. I moved things, sometimes large while others not so much." He tapped the chest of his suit. "This became a second skin for me, the only thing protecting me everywhere I went."

"Was it that dangerous where you were?" Gordon lifted his head and saw the Jaune was the one to ask the question

A slight chuckle came from the orange suited scientist.

"A walk in the park when I look back at it… just like a walk in the park." The stick fell from his hand and hit the ground.

With that, Ruby's once seated posture upon the log was changed ever so suddenly as she collapsed backwards, the quiet action earning the shouting of the others erupting in worry for her all-around Gordon, who in turn sat still, his eyes glaring into the ever-burning flame.

* * *

" _The death of a dream can in fact serve as the vehicle that endows it with new form, with reinvigorated substance, a fresh flow of ideas, and splendidly revitalized color. In short, the power of a certain kind of dream is such that death need not indicate finality at all but rather signify a metaphysical and metaphorical leap forward."_  
― Aberjhani, The River of Winged Dreams

* * *

 _Red Like Roses_

Her head hurt as a pounding sensation resounded throughout it. A dream, one of such strange possibilities that she'd seen oh so often. One of mystical fantasy, of magic and creatures of darkness. They all seemed so strange, yet so familiar.

Her eyes struggled to open themselves as a voice surrounded her. One that repeated itself over and over, saying a name that she knew all too well, Ruby Rose.

" _Dr. Ro- "_

It didn't stop, and in sense it started to annoy her. A tired sensation stayed as her eyes continued to open, her mind screaming at the action to stop for she still desired sleep. The music continued to play, only that there was nothing as well.

" _Dr. Ros- "_

Funny on how a body would react so different if it was driven by the heart instead of the mind. Many things could or would possibly change from such things. Or would it? She didn't know, and she doubted the voice would either.

"Dr. Rose!" A loud slap came directly next to her head, causing her to lunge herself upwards, earbuds flying out of her ears.

"I'm up! I'm up! Where's that emergency?"

Her eyes were fully open now, the sliver reflection shining on the man-made light sitting above her. Her head turned to where the ruler, the source of the slap, was retreating too. A man wearing a pair of large oval glasses and with short brown hair was standing next to her, a frown on his face; the wrinkles signifying his age.

"Dr. Rose, do you understand what time it is?"

Ruby went wide eyed and spun her head around, the focus falling upon an alarm clock next to her hand, and incidentally a small plate of what appeared to be cookie crumbs. To her surprise, the alarm clock was blank, or rather it lacks the necessary power to display its contents. Ironic enough, a note sat next to the plate of cookie crumbs, and on it read rather clearly;

" _Dr. Rose. Please refrain from helping yourself to these cookies upon this plate as they are a failed product. Also, when you finish up your assigned paperwork, please plug the clock back in as you were the one to unplug it, we have an important inspection at 10:05 about the recent weapon developments._

 _-Dr. Walter Bennet_

Ruby spun back around to the man who was no longer frowning at her, but instead was shaking his head with two of his fingers on his forehead, appearing to be stressed.

"Uhhh, it's not what it looks like. It wasn't even my fault really, who just leaves cookies out on a plate? Weren't they supposed to be properly disposed of?"

The man swung his hands up into the air, the ruler narrowly missing her, and shouted. "That was what you were supposed to do! Dispose of the failed product!"

Ruby sheepishly glanced off to the side. He was right, she was supposed to take care of the failed product, but she has a good explanation. There was never an indication of what it looked like, and where it was to be found. She just remembered walking into said room and seeing a scrumptious plate of cookies sitting all alone and with no one to eat them.

"If… If they're a failed product, then I'm safe… right?" She said with much worry in her voice.

The man sighed before letting his hands fall back to his side. "They were a small side project we were working on. A… joke? Of sorts. One that was meant for these useless security guards around here, they can hardly fix an elevator, let alone guard us. They're more of a nuisance if anything. These were to be Sleeping/Memory erasing stimulated cookies. One was supposed to put the one who ate it to sleep within five minutes lasting for about eight hours, and with it erase a day's worth of memory, more specifically, that day. Of course, it didn't work with a single, or maybe two to three cookies; something wrong with a chemical imbalance of sorts"

Ruby's eyes sparkled for only a second before the man started to speak again.

"After three batches, nothing was working. _That_ batch right there was the last, and still unsuccessful one- "

"Then I'm just fine?!" Ruby said enthusiastically.

"But after some more research, a certain chemical reaction between a single cookie and, to no surprise- "He held up a white carton, upon it reading; _"Creamy Cow; It's utterly delicious."_

"A certain chemical, 17-alpha-ethinylestradiol to be more exact, was found within the milk reacted with another batch later made, and with it, allowed the effect to happen. Apparently drinking said liquid alongside the baked treat gave much greater results… seeing that you ate the entire plate… along with an entire carton of such." He tilted the carton upside down, revealing the contents were indeed empty. "I'm more surprised you are not braindead Dr. Rose. Quite a resistance, a comically stupid resistance at that; that you have built. Congrats on not becoming a vegetable."

The man clapped rather sarcastically as Ruby stared at him with eyes of embarrassment, and extreme worry upon finding out the she could have easily died by enjoying one of her favorite things in the whole world.

"Sooooo, does that mean I'm all good to go?"

The man sighed again. "No Dr. Rose, more like the complete opposite." He undid the watch around his wrist and tossed it onto the table next to Ruby, the clock face sitting upwards. She leaned inwards and read the numbers upon it, before going wide eyed at it; mumbling under her breath. "N-N-Nine-fifty-five… I'm gonna be late!"

She jumped up from her desk, grabbing ahold of a stack of folders, tucking it underneath her arm before sprinting towards the glass door only to be stopped by a hand on her shoulder, spinning her around.

"Dr. Rose, please do understand that this is important, and with it, requires a sense of… elegance when regarding such as well." He sighed again before pulling out a mirror and handing it to her. Where he had such things, she would never know.

Glancing in the mirror, she noticed a multitude of things. The largest outlier appearing to her first. Her hair was a complete mess, or rather one that defied gravity itself. Strands were sitting directly opposite of where it should have gone, the static from the table directing them in such a way that anyone who looked at her would have guessed that half of her was sitting in an anti-gravity chamber and was permanently left that way. Her face was covered in crumbs from said cookies and a large chocolate stain was stretched across it like a large, joker like smile. How it became like that, even she couldn't remember.

"Uhhh, do you- "

A handkerchief and comb were held out by him, his disappointed attitude clearly unraveled from when he first appeared.

"Do it while you walk. The elevator is out of order, and knowing how things are around here, it'll stay that way till this evening." He turned her back around and placed his hands on her back before pushing her rather forcefully out of the open glass door. "Now get going. I have to reorganize this mess before Richard gets his crippled self over here, you know how serious he gets over these things."

The door slid itself close and left her standing outside with a stack of folders underneath one arm and a brush and handkerchief in the other. Two scientists walked behind her speaking and made it clear that no attempt to hide their conversation.

"Dr. Rose at it once again. She's always cutting it so close, just like Gordon does. I swear, two completely different personalities. It's a wonder that she hasn't earned employee of the month like him."

Spinning around, Ruby was already covering her face with the mirror given to her, all while still mumbling. "Gordon Freeman this, inspection that, too young that- "She sighed while tilting her head upwards, before letting it fall back down, her face full of panic. "The inspection!"

With that, she ran.

 _Five Minutes later_

Ruby burst through the doors and waiting inside were three sharply dressed individuals and another wearing a lab coat like her own, white hair tied up into a ponytail. A fellow colleague of hers and one that was also part of creating the major piece in today's special inspection. Doctor Weiss Schnee, a member of the Advanced Biological Research Lab like herself.

Her sudden outburst was noticed by the four and when they turned to face her, all they saw was a young woman holding a stack of folders with what one could only describe as a tornado had flew through, and in sense kept her inside of it.

"Hehe… sorry I'm late?"

The other woman sighed as she turned back to the three uniformed individuals.

"I apologize for my colleagues rather late appearance. As I was saying though- "

Ruby quickly made a quick input as she laid down the folders and began fixing her hair with the brush she had. "I'm not late. Ten-o-Five on the dot." Her hand pointing towards the clock in the room.

The woman shot her and icy glare before turning around once more, continuing onward.

"Today, is something that we can proudly say is a one of the many monumental achievements to come from Black Mesa. As you can see here," Her arm waved in front of a large machine, a multitude of wires and other various lights blinked from the machine. The eyes of the uniformed individuals eyeing it rather interestingly.

"This gentleman, is the XVL1295, a higher, smaller, and more concentrated particle cannon than anyone ever created, or should I say wish they could have created something like this."

Ruby finished ever so quickly and ran next to the woman, a smile on her face. "Thank you Dr. Schnee." She turned to her and smiled rather wide, earning a sigh from the woman and causing her to take a step back and walk over towards another area of the room.

"Now, you might be wondering exactly how such a wonderful machine might work? Well, it's rather simple if you look at it. First off, I should explain what exactly this machine is doing, or rather firing. The tau, also called the tau lepton, tau particle, or tauon, is an elementary particle like the electron, with negative electric charge and a spin of 1/2. Together with the electron, the muon, and the three neutrinos, it is a lepton. Like all elementary particles with half-integer spin, the tau has a corresponding antiparticle of opposite charge but equal mass and spin." She inhaled before continuing, the three looking ever so confused. "Since their interactions are very similar to those of the electron, a tau can be thought of as a much heavier version of the electron. Because of their greater mass, tau particles do not emit as much bremsstrahlung radiation as electrons; consequently, they are potentially highly penetrating, much more so than electrons. However, because of their short lifetime, the range of the tau is mainly set by their decay length, which is too small for bremsstrahlung to be noticeable: their penetrating power appears only at ultra-high energy- "

Before she could continue any further, one of the decorated men spoke up, his hand raised while the other was rubbing his forehead. "Excuse me, but… I don't believe we caught your name. Doctor-?"

"Doctor Rose. Doctor Ruby Rose general."

The man nodded before continuing. "Now Dr. Rose. While I'm sure you'd love to continue your science mumbo-jumbo, but we're rather time constrained now. We'd prefer if you'd demonstrate the device." His hand gesturing towards the device.

Ruby stared at him with her mouth slightly agape before closing it and nodding her head. She was stunned with what she just heard. What would be the point of showing such a wonderful thing if you didn't even understand how it worked? It truly shook her thoughts to no end, but thankfully for her, Weiss held out a pair of goggles in front of her and three more out to the generals.

"Of course, gentleman. Excuse my partner here; as you've heard, like myself, we're rather passionate about this." The three took the goggles and wrapped them around their heads, leaving them above their eyes while their hats sat underneath their arms. "If you'd follow me, this is still a weapon of sorts, and precaution is a major part of our facility." The four started their walk towards the protective pane while Ruby followed behind, still rather agitated about continuing with the trial. It didn't matter though, there was still more to be shown after this.

Finally standing behind the pane, Weiss pressed a few buttons and two large panes of steel came down from the ceiling and hung a few yards away from the machine. One of the generals spoke up.

"What exactly is supposed to happen her Doctor?"

Ruby shared a glance, then a smile with Weiss who was doing the same. They both turned their attention back to the machine when they spoke. "You'll see." Then she pressed it while lowering their goggles, the others taking note of this and doing the same.

The machine started to hum to life, the coils spinning and light slowly starting to flare out of it. A yellow glow started to emanate from it, and with it the hum turning into a much louder sound. The coils sped up even faster, the lights of the room were shut off by the two and the yellow glow could easily be seen now as it flashed around it.

Smiles were across the women's faces as the machine grew ever so close to its firing point, and now, a quick yellow flash engulfed the room, and a solid yellow laser could be seen firing through the first steel plate and hitting the second. This continued only for a few seconds before Weiss hit the button and shit down the machine, cutting the laser off and leaving a metal plate with a singular hole in it and the other with a large black, ash stain.

The machines hum started to resound throughout the room as the lights were flipped back on and the two took off their goggles while turning to the three, who in turn had their mouths only slightly agape while still staring at the device.

"Gentleman, that concludes the 322nd trial run of particle cannon XVL1295."

The three turned to face them, their goggles still on. The one closest to them quickly closed their mouth before removing the goggles and placing them on the small desk next to him. He coughed into his hand before speaking. "That's… quite something Doctor. There is question I must ask though- can you make it… more transportable."

Ruby and Weiss shared a glance once again, and then she was gone just as fast as she came into the room.

 _Seconds later_

Pushing a cart with a large device upon it, Ruby stopped "This right here is a masterpiece if I'd ever seen one gentleman. Unlike its older sister, this piece weighs approximately two-thousand seven-hundred and forty-eight kilograms lighter but produces the same effect while consuming a lesser amount of uranium along with being able to be carried around. I present you the XVL1456 also known as _the Tau Cannon._ " Ruby gestured her hands across the device while smiling towards Weiss, who in turn only nodded her head in acknowledgement.

The three generals made their way up to the device on the cart, curiosity clearly on their face. The same general who questioned before opened his mouth, and to no surprise to Ruby, it was another question. "I take it there'll be another demonstration?"

Ruby wanted to say no, as in there was no way that she would gladly hold this device in her own hands and fire it without the aid of a HEV suit in anyway, and from the looks of it there wasn't any suit like that within arm's reach. She started to open her mouth, but before she could say anything Weiss spoke up and took ahold of the situation.

"It'll take us some time to set up- "

Another one of the generals spoke up this time, his voice appearing much deeper than the rest. "We'd prefer to see it performed in its intended field Doctor, not hanging from wires. From what we're understanding about this device, is that it's perfectly capable of being held in one's hands and being fired from it, am I wrong?"

Ruby even saw that Weiss was beginning to stutter at this question. They both knew that there hadn't been enough trials ran and changes made that there would be a one-hundred percent chance of it working without harming any individual without the aid of an HEV suit that fired it. That and there was the factor of overcharging said cannon and with the possibility of being unable to stop the device in said situation. They had to say no in this situation, it was just too dangerous at this point.

Ruby spoke up. "Give us a few minutes please. We… We have to obtain certain resources before firing the device." She grabbed ahold of Weiss's wrist and pulled her along, allowing the three to inspect the smaller device as the two stepped into the hallway and out of the room.

Weiss turned Ruby around to face her, "What are we going to do!?"

Ruby didn't know what to do, and she made that clear. "I don't know. There haven't been enough trials even with the suit, let alone without it. I can't even begin to explain the dangers that would be associated with it."

Weiss sighed before glancing around then back towards Ruby. "Okay. Go grab it."

Her eyes went wide. "Really! But… but it's just a side project. If anything, they'd turn it down immediately."

"That doesn't matter. We need something to turn their attention away from- "

Before she could finish, one of the Generals came from the door, a frown clearly on his face. "Doctor, I do believe-"

"Just wait General. This is upmost importance and could easily effect the trial we're going to commence very soon."

"And I do believe that I said that we're short on time Doctor. We all have schedules to follow." The door closed, leaving the two alone once more.

"So, go grab it."

Ruby stood quiet for a second, she bit her lip before turning away for a second, earning a questioning glance from Weiss.

"Where is it Ruby?"

She was in a bad spot now. 'That' was nowhere near close enough to make it in time, and she doubted that Weiss could distract them for that long. "It's… It's behind a four-level locked wall panel; I don't have enough time to get it."

Weiss stared at her for only a few seconds before suddenly making her way past Ruby and towards the room where the prototypes, and Generals sat in. Ruby spun around, trying to make sense of what was happening.

"What are you going to do!? You can't be serious- "

"I'm not. I'm telling him the truth; the machine cannot be fired in its current state without following the safety protocols associated with it. That's that." With that, she opened the door and walked inside. Ruby paced for only seconds before running in behind her, and walking next to her, a worried expression on her face as Weiss prepared herself to tell of the news that was being withheld at the current moment.

"Now General- "Weiss was stopped by a rather sudden shake of the ground beneath them, the entire room shaking and causing them to send their attention to the new event. This continued for only a second before the alarms around them started to blare around them. This wasn't an earthquake like they've felt before, it felt… to focused.

"Doctor! What is going on?"

Weiss and Ruby shared a glance before she spoke up. "I-I don't know?"

One of the Generals walked over to her and placed his hands on her shoulders. "What do you mean you don't know? Aren't you supposed to understand these types of things?"

Weiss pulled the General from her and pointed a finger into his chest. "We're Physicists dammit, not Seismologists you fool!"

He began to open his mouth to retort said comment but was stopped by a sudden sound of shuffling outside the door to the room.

The door into the room suddenly burst open, making the five of them turn their heads towards the open doorway. Standing in the door was one of the many security guards of the facility. This one looked rather large and was sweating profusely. He had a gun in one hand and the other one shot up to point towards something down the hallway.

"There's-There's ali- AHHHHH!"

The guard was sent flying as a bolt of green lighting struck the side of him, the smell of singed flesh instantly floated in the air around them.

Both Ruby and Weiss took a step backwards from the door while the Generals made their way forward only so slightly. Their faces showing the confusion that rested within all of them. Alarms continued to blare, but to them everything was quiet. From their position, only shadows could be seen at the edge of the doorway while the three visibly recoiled before one of them spoke up.

"Just what the hell are you-?"

The man was sent flying backwards by the very same green lighting. The man collided into the wall next to the women, his entire chest cavity burnt open, the same burnt flesh smell coming from him, the two turning their heads away while covering their mouth and noises. Their attention turned back to the other two Generals who were now running out of the room and towards whatever caused this, screaming in either panic or anger. Ruby couldn't tell the difference.

Two more electrical shots resounded through the air and two more bodies were thrown across the ground, smoke trailing from their wounds.

Weiss immediately glared towards Ruby before dragging her along with her, only to crouch next to her placing a hand on her shoulder while staring into her eyes, ice blue meeting silver.

"Ruby- "

"Yes!" She responded quickly, and in a whisper.

"Stay here, I'm going- "

"You're not going to go anywhere."

She sighed before peaking over the counter they were sitting behind only to return to glaring at her. "I'm going to try something. When I do, run to where they are."

Ruby thought for only a second before realizing what she was talking about. "B-But those have only had a trial or two. We don't- "

Weiss cut back in. "Trust your gut. It's either we try and get out or die by doing nothing." She made one quicker glance over the counter before looking back at her. "I'm going to grab the prototype and make a run with it. Worst case scenario I end up with some burns here and there. Point is, get there. I'll be there shortly… ok partner?"

Ruby stared at her for only a few seconds before nodding her head. "Ok. You better get back, I'm not about to let you take all the credit for saving us."

Weiss smiled before dropping her hand from Ruby's shoulder. Then they ran, and only if she could have run faster before a quick blast traced in front of her and hit an ever-looming red barrel that couldn't have been placed in any worse of a spot of all days.

The force of the explosion knocked her back, the air escaping from her body while heat enveloped her entire self. Pain singed her senses, but it wasn't death that took her; yet only the blackness of her fading consciousness.

* * *

 **Now many of you might be wondering of what this chapter was exactly. Well, I can't say much yet now, or can I? This little section of this will continue of for the next few chapters as Remnant has had a fair part of this story, yet those characters have yet to have a chance to experience the hell that their future savior has endured. It'll explain itself in time, just wait please, or don't. I can't force you. Expect to see others, maybe even guess on who's coming next and where.**

 **Comment on what you'd like too, and if not, then don't. The next chapter will be coming, just wait for it, and enjoy hopefully.**

Farewell **, see you all again.**


	13. A Trip To Black Mesa: Yang Xiao Long

**Hey everyone, it's another chapter that's not separated by an entire month. Surprised? Shouldn't be, I have so much free time it's a crime… not really though. I really appreciate the feedback I got on the latest chapter, it was a real refresher to everything I've been up too; tests and all. You lot are wonderful, you know that, just needed to get that out though.**

 _Big Toast:_ **I'm happy that you're happy of where I'm taking this story, wherever that might be though, I'm unsure about it. It's like I'm lying down track at most three steps ahead of the latest chapter, only to pick em back up and start at where I last left off on. Thanks again though.**

 _Rio Skyron:_ **Ahhh, another occurrence of, "** _I don't even know anymore_ _ **"**_ **syndrome. Can't say much besides that, because I'm only a little ahead of that, just winging it like a true individual that doesn't know what their doing 80% of the time.**

 _Elusive Prey:_ **Why thank you very much! I enjoy dabbling in the untouched, and if I can, take it as far as it will go before it is unable to. I too have never seen either Weiss or Ruby as physicists, a field that I'll only ever look at as a headache for my simple brain. Hope I can bring more enjoyment in the future, thank you once again.**

 _Captain SteeleStag:_ **Overall, yes. I wanted to draw from Freeman's mind and the others as well since they are, in my opinion, a wonderful piece of comedy that many miss out on since it is from a game unknown to many besides being a meme in a sense. The gravity gun itself is but another piece that the wonderful** _G-Man_ **can take ahold of and manipulate to his will. When it comes to victims, well that's something that never crossed my mind in quite a literal sense until I saw your comment. If we were to be completely logical in the terms of Earth, the variant of Resonance Cascade that was used would, in a way, destroy anything to the smallest neutrinos that exists. I mean destroy, a thing that is not being capable of being done since nothing is ever destroyed, just moved somewhere else or broken down, hence in the logical terms of Earth, impossible. Hence in Remnant, we take logic in our own hands and play with it like play-dough, and thus it was such a contained force that it imploded in on itself and caused little damage to life, the same cannot be said about anything else. Science is a very close subject to my heart, mostly the medical sense of it, but it's science nonetheless. Magic is also another that I absolutely enjoy, and when putting the two side by side, it's enjoyable to no end to try and compare one to the other only to sit there with your hands cross and have absolutely nothing in the end. Is it beautiful? Yes, in everyway to whoever looks at it. Thank you.**

 _Guest:_ **It's a chapter that broke away from the norm as my mind tries to comprehend on what to do next with out wonderful trio of men being where they shouldn't be and doing a job that they are not nearly paid enough to do. That's it really.**

 **Nothing else to say after that. Hope you all enjoy the latest chapter.**

 **I don't own anything, possibly even my own mind?**

* * *

Sitting in a black abyss, nothing in sight as an ever-ending tone of loneliness seeps into your mind. Your body is the lightest it has ever been, and with it the feeling of floating. You yourself know that something is wrong, yet the very feeling of wrongness is absent in your mind. You try to raise your hand, an attempt left fruitless as the hand you feel moving isn't in front of your eyes, or that the fact that the eyes you see out of are not even there to begin with. A sense of emotions flow over your system, and then nothing. In that minimal second you felt ever possible emotion you could have even begun to understand. Depression, vexation, satisfaction, abandonment, loathing, infatuation, resentment; all of which drowned you in the very feelings that you once tried to hide within yourself at the most opportune times.

Returning from the overflow of emotions, your mind wanders to the figure walking out of a strange door in, what you could only guess, to be in front of you. A suited figure that looked deathly pale with green eyes that would stare towards you in any situation and wouldn't change the slightest.

You want to move, to shout out towards the man and question what the very thing that is causing this mess to happen with you, the one that is simply… not there. Yet you can do nothing as he approaches, suitcase in hand. Fear begins to encroach upon your mind, the only emotion you can feel even though it's so small, it stills lies within you. Your nonexistent legs attempt to carry you backwards, yet they cause you to stumble in the weightless abyss, and still there is no movement from you.

The man had finally stopped, and his eyes are locked with what you can only guess to be yours. He speaks.

"I see you've finally awake…" A loud scratch of static blares through your false ears, blocking out the very words you want to hear and recognize, yet fail to. "While a time of rest is… admirable, the time for recognizing one's potential has come to… bear fruit." A smile crept onto the man's face, a spine-chilling feel crept along your body, the man's eyes losing all sense of color and becoming complete black orbs of nothing, sharing the same abysses that surrounded your being.

"I've been one to take in interest in those… who adapt and survive against all odds, a fascination that resembles a part of me rather well." His back was turned to you, and right next to him appeared what you could only describe as… a human skeleton.

"We've… all lost something at some point in our lives." He turned to face the ominous skeleton raising his hand up towards it, and before he could place his hand upon it, the entire right arm of it began to vanish into what you could only describe as the very non-existent air that you're floating in. At the same time the feeling in that very arm that was supposedly attached to you in this empty abyss began to lose the very thought of being there.

In a state on panic at the thought of losing one of your own limbs, you start to swipe towards it in some sort of attempt to stop the degrading process. Yet with all the effort you put towards even trying to commit towards such an act, there's nothing you can do. Shapeless tears begin to flow down your face in anger, sadness, and the many emotions you experienced before. You try to call out to the man in front of you, but his back is still turned towards you.

Then you feel it, or rather the lack of it. In front of you the skeleton that was just floating there, was now missing its entire arm… just like yourself.

The man turned back around, a blank expression still upon his face.

"What harm is there in sharing such a pain with those around you? I can assure you *SKKKRRRSSHH* that there is many that have lost more than you could ever imagine."

A strange sound started to surround you, where it came from you had no sense of it whatsoever. It started to become louder and louder, a light encroaching towards you from the corners of your eye. You start to turn towards it, but before it reaches you, in perfect clarity you hear his voice.

"Enjoy your time at Black Mesa *SKKKRRRSSHH*." Then your vision was taken away by the blinding light, sending your consciousness into who knows where.

* * *

 _Posttraumatic stress disorder_ _(PTSD), once called shell shock or battle_ _fatigue_ _syndrome, is a serious condition that can develop after a person has experienced or witnessed a traumatic or terrifying event in which serious physical harm occurred or was threatened. PTSD is a lasting consequence of traumatic ordeals that cause intense fear, helplessness, or horror, such as a sexual or physical assault, the unexpected death of a loved one, an accident, war, or natural disaster. Families of victims can also develop PTSD, as can emergency personnel and rescue workers._

 _Most people who experience a traumatic event will have reactions that may include shock, anger, nervousness, fear, and even guilt. These reactions are common, and for most people, they go away over time. For a person with PTSD, however, these feelings continue and even increase, becoming so strong that they keep the person from living a normal life. People with PTSD have symptoms for longer than one month and cannot function as well as before the event occurred._

 _Symptoms of PTSD normal include but are not limited too; reliving the experience through hallucinations and nightmares. Avoiding people, places, thoughts and situations that would remind they of the trauma. Negative cognitions and mood that ends in the victim placing the blame of the event upon themselves. Increased emotional response and-_

With a sigh and swift motion of his hand, the small booklet was closed in his hand. Shepard glanced at the informational booklet that he found in a spare pocket of his PCV after taking his time to relax at an outdoor café. The soft breeze and bright sun was nicely commented by the palm trees surround the store. The cover of the booklet was simple when it came to designs, where on others would have some sort of elegant accent on it. Instead of those things, there was just a small set of golden words on a black background.

 _Flatline Insurance_

" _We're here when you're not."_

Shepard had to do a double-take after staring intensely at the title of the booklet for a straight minute before sighing and tucking it back into one of the many pouches of his PCV.

"Beside the clearly suspicious name, why now? First it was surviving that hellish place alongside fighting aliens. Only to be followed up with being the target of a clean-up crew of those shady Black Ops force, then everything I tried to stop them after stopping an alien invasion only to have it blow up in my face by the same man who put me in this damn place. Why do they care about my mental health now!"

He sprung to his feet while throwing his hands up into the air. Before Shepard continued he took notice of the amount of people who stopped what they were doing to stare at him with what he could only tell to be worried eyes.

Shepard sighed again before shaking his head and taking up the decision to stretch, one thing he hadn't done in quite some time. Seeing that the eyes that were previously watching him before had begun to turn and walk away, he took this chance to reach down to the folder and grab ahold of it. Staring at it for a second, he concluded that everything within this folder clearly held more than enough evidence to convict him of being a stalker, hell even a serial killer with the way he was currently outfitted.

He didn't entirely stand out that badly, from his viewpoint there were those who stood out much more. There were people wearing armor of different types and even others carrying swords or axes. Now that is sure to attract attention at home.

Sitting back down, he took this chance to flip through the folder once again, only much faster than before with only a glance every now and then. Before he flipped to the next page a flash of color caught his eye. With a slight sense of panic, he closes the folder in a hurry before staring at the manila colored folder with red letters across the front of tit. He could feel himself sweat slightly at the thought of what might lie within the folder that previously caught his attention.

Steeling his resolve to open the folder back up, to his surprise it blew itself open from a sudden gust of wind the pages flapping from left to right only to stop on a single profile. Shepard didn't even need to look at the name, but instead only the picture that was accompanied with it.

His mind was telling him that it wasn't true, that it was being treated as a plaything by the forces that brought him into this very situation. Yet the memory he had of it seemed so vividly real that in no way could it be fake.

From behind his mask, and underneath his breath, he asked a single question. " _Sunshine_ you're… you're here?"

* * *

 _A dream, one of a very different world than our own. Fires were spread all around; broken buildings were scattered along with creatures you've never seen before, yet it all looked so familiar in your eyes. Standing in the middle of it all, you see three figures in front of you. One on the ground, another above them, and lastly… yourself?_

 _Staring at a mirror image of yourself through a broken window, the only thing that is different from the two of you is the choice of clothing, and the strange things on your… no their wrist. You couldn't hear anything from the 'other you', and the one standing with a sword at their hip. You wanted to step in, but your feet didn't move. A surge of heat blew past you as 'they' immersed themselves in a yellow flame, their hair floating upwards. You don't know what's going on, but it all feels so… surreal._

 _She seemed to scream at the one standing, and with unhuman like speed, they launched themselves, but in your eyes, you saw it go so, so much slower. The man began to draw his sword, a fashion she didn't even see coming. You want to stop this, stop all of this. Closer and closer they edged themselves towards one another._

 _You open your mouth, and then everything stops._

* * *

"NOOO!" She shouted. Sweat came down from her forehead, and when she finally came to it, everything around her was different. A multitude of eyes stared at her for one besides a figure in front of her sleeping, or at least she thought he was, along with the loud sounds of a helicopter, she seemed to be more lost than ever. It stayed quiet for only a second until one of them men spoke up, more specifically the one wearing a large pair of glasses and a helmet with a white strap wrapped around his helmet.

"Uhhh, Yang?"

Yang leaned over for a second, her fingers on the bridge of her nose. A massive headache came over her for only but a second, yet it seemed like it was there for a second. She stayed like that for only a little longer before straightening her back and slapping the side of her face with her hands; the men around her leaning back only slightly in surprise.

"No need Davies, I'm all good now. Shining as bright as this damn sun and ready to kick some ass." She flashed a smile in his direction, which in turn only earned a sigh from the quiet medic.

Yang was right though. Outside of the Osprey Helicopter were just lines of rocky cliff faces and the scorching sun. God it was so hot, what she would do for a drink right now. It didn't help that they practically packed them into this Heli, not that she was claustrophobic or anything, but it doesn't hurt to keep an eye on these types of things.

"Jesus, is it hot in here or is it just me?" Yang threw out a comment, earning a sigh from a few of the men and a small chuckle from the others.

"It's the middle of the desert Sunshine **[1]** , get used to it." The man next to her spoke up, Thorne if she remembered correctly.

"Yeah _'Sunshine'_ , maybe that hair of yours will finally be put to some use and blind some idiot who looks at it." The man by the name of Kowalski gave out a laugh after clearly making a joke about her hair.

Yang smiled as she ran her hands under her hair and fluffed it upwards. "I can't help that my hair gets me both the men and ladies Kowalski. Maybe that retracting hairline of yours will get you something later in life when you're in your fifties, not just your hair."

Another round of laughter came from the men around her. A slight movement from Shepard in front of her at least told her that he was conscious of everything going on around him. Jesus how did he sleep through all of this.

"Hey Yang. I've been meaning to ask you something." The man across from her, Richards, one that was an asshole for no reason besides to just be one. She didn't understand how no one had beaten him once or twice… besides herself of course. Oddly enough, he reminded her of someone she went to school with, yet she just couldn't think of who it was, just that he was an asshole and had a face that wanted their legs broken.

Before he could ask his question, she popped off. "If it's about a rematch, I'll have to decline. Seeing you lie in pain gave me a plenty good experience the last time Richards. Maybe some other time when I'm in the mood to see you spout your mouth off then crumple to the ground with a bloody nose."

The men around her laughed once more, Richards just sighing as he spoke up again. "Very funny. I'm talking about those things around your wrists. We saw you practicing with them at the range, it looked like they were shooting shells. What kind of weapon is that; wrist shotguns?"

Yang glanced around for a second, the others also staring at the large, shaped metal blocks around her wrist. She smiled as she brought them up before pumping them with a simple motion of her wrist. A loud click emanated from them and open chambers appeared on the side while they slid over her fists and acted as some sort of fist cover. "I can't say much since it's technically 'classified', but all I have to say is that these babies will put a nice spread of 12 gauge in anyone's chest that gets to close with a simple motion." She swung her fist forward, and an empty clicking sound came from the device, a few of the men flinching when she did so.

"That seems overly complicated don't you think? Just shoot them before they get even close to you?" Kowalski spoke again, confusion in his voice.

Yang spoke again, adjusting the weapons on her wrist. "How about when they're already close to you and you're out of bullets, then what?" She flung out her fist again. "Boom! Drop em quick I tell ya. The saying that ' _the pen is mightier than the sword'_ is proven wrong once again. Gun wins it all." Smiling widely, a small applause went around.

The man sitting next to Kowalski adjusted his glasses before speaking. The oh so quiet Davis, how much of a mystery that man was. For all she knew, the man was Black Ops and is just here to watch them blunder and make sure they don't die. "You're missing the entire point of the saying Lance Corporal Xiao Long. What Lytton was saying is that when it comes to communication, the use of the independent press is much more effective than direct violence."

Yang quickly retorted to the squad's medic. "Well when it comes to the Beach Boys, _"the pen is mightier than the sword but no match for a gun"_ _ **[2]**_. Once again, gun wins all." Davis sighed again before leaning back in his seat and leaving her to return to his own thoughts.

"How come you get all the fancy gifts Sunshine? Those knees of yours hurtin yet or is it that brown I see on your nose."

"Oh, shut it Kowalski. I don't know, maybe good behavior?"

The Helicopter went silent for a few seconds before laughter broke out between all of them, including herself.

Richards must have knocked Shepard next to him since it seemed to look like he finally woke up from what she guessed to be a nap.

"Look everyone, Sleeping Beauty is finally up." Yang called out while slapping the knee of Shepard, the man sighing as the others chuckled slightly.

Throne spoke up again after some more time passed. "Just where the hell are we anyway?"

Yang started to speak up but was interrupted by Kowalski. "Well the pilot thought we were going to your mother's house. So far," He let out a small chuckle, "this all looks familiar."

It was clear that Thorne was not amused by Kowalski's joke. "Yeah, that's real cute, Jackson."

Kowalski spoke still while keeping in his cigarette surprisingly enough. "Anytime, anywhere."

Throne sniffed the air around him. "Hey man, you smell that?" He asked.

Before Yang could respond, Kowalski beat her to the punch. "Smell what?"

"Smells like… another baby sittin' job to me, man!"

"Yeah, no shit, man!"

Richard spoke up, his voice much louder than it was before. "Babysitting job my ass! This has training mission written all over it! Why else would they withhold our orders for so long, huh?"

Thorne nodded his head in agreement. "Yeah, man. What's the hell up with that? Throwin' all of us in this hunk of junk and not even telling us what we're going in for!"

The Commanding Officer in the helicopter spoke up, slight venom in his words. "Do you have a problem, Private? I will give you your orders when we reach the LZ!"

"Sir, yes Sir!"

Kowalski took another puff of his cigarette before shrugging. "I don't really give a damn what we're goin' in for as long as I get to kill me somethin'."

Richard shouted once again in agreement. "I heard that!"

"All I know is that when we're finished, the showers are calling my name! I'm tired of this damn dry heat." She shouted out. In truth, this was honestly tiring in its self. A nice cool shower was all that she wanted at this moment, and maybe even a drink after that. A few of them around nodded their heads in agreement.

"Man, if we're goin' in for another search and rescue operation, I'm gonna be pissed," Thorne grumbled while fiddling with the rifle in his hands.

Kowalski grinned. "Yeah, and _I'm_ gonna be pissed if I have to seek out and rescue your sorry ass!"

Some more laughter went around the Helicopter as radio chatter in the cockpit resounded throughout it.

" _Anyone out there go a good view at the LZ yet?"_

" _Negative, Goose 7. I can see some activity up there, but I can't tell what it is."_

As the radio stuttered off, Yang saw Shepard shuffle slightly while leaning forward. While she could only see his eyes, they seemed rather surprised as they were wide as they could be behind the green lenses of the gas mask he was wearing. "Ay Shepard, what are you looking at? You look like you've seen a ghost or something?" She asked.

Yang saw him reach towards his seat straps and began to tighten them before the Commanding Officer spoke up. "Okay people, listen up. We have an extremely hostile situation on our hands."

All their attention was put on him, but before he could continue anymore, a loud explosion rocked their ears. Their attention quickly shifted to what was happening outside of the Helicopter, the radio quickly coming to life with shouting chatter.

" _Holy shit! Goose 3 down. Goose 3 down!"_

The moment she saw what was happening, there only remained a falling corpse of one of the Ospreys flying next to them. Its entirety pathed in flames. There was commotion going on around her inside the helicopter, the others shouting over one another, yet all she did was stare at what was going on outside before quickly turning around towards Shepard who was staring at her with a confused glance, more than she could remember.

Light started to envelop the entire Osprey, lighting steaks colored white striking around them. The Commanding Officer looked to be as if he was thrown out, or maybe he jumped, and Yang could feel herself losing her footing in the same situation, a mistake of not staying sit on her part. Before she could shout anything towards him, a quick motion Her hands started to loosen themselves from the handle, and as the suction from the impending explosion warped their surroundings she could only her a single question from the soldier in front of her as the force pulled her footing out from beneath her and the hard metal of the Osprey quickly vanished. His eyes no longer held such a confused glance, but instead one filled with unsettling feeling as they seemingly pierced through her.

"Who… are you?"

A falling sensation overcame Yang as her entire body was thrown out and sent her spiraling downwards into the valley of rocks below. The Osprey was leaving a trail of flames as the strange stingray flew above it, electricity shooting from below it. Her arms spread out as she fell towards the ground, the hair she adored so much flapping in front of her.

A torrent of green light began to surround her as the sensation of enclosing on the rocky surface beneath her was drawing ever so near. An electric feeling ran through her being, and in an instant, the bright desert skies of Arizona had never been so different in her eyes. Instead she was now staring at a blank white ceiling, a simple buzzing of the lights never sounded so foreign to her ears at this moment.

Before she had a chance to even move, a painful sensation came over her body and with it, and encroaching feeling of losing her consciousness to practically nothing. Using up any amount of strength she had within her, Yang glanced downwards and saw only a red stain emitting from her side.

Her head fell back onto the ground and rolled to the side, her eyes staring at the blank white tiles that she was lying on. With the advancing darkness in her vision, the last thing she saw before the darkness finally took her was two figures wearing what she could only describe as lab coats.

Then, a complete envelopment of her consciousness falling with her surroundings.

* * *

 **[1]:** The shining of the sun; direct light of the sun/ Brightness or radiance; cheerful or happiness. In my own eyes, if someone like Yang were to keep her personality within the Marines or something like the sort of it, she would have caught that name at some point or something like Goldilocks because of her hair. I just found sunshine more acceptable in this situation.

 **[2]:** This line comes from the song. "Student Demonstration Time" is a song written by Jerry Leiber, Mike Stoller and Mike Love, which was recorded by the American rock band the Beach Boys for the album Surf's Up, released in 1971.

 **Would you look at that, it's the end of this chapter. Saddening in a sense, really, but what else can one do besides look forward to the next one? Which bring the rise to the next question… who… or what? Of course, it doesn't fall onto you, the reader, to decide such a thing, but I enjoy pleasing others, it brings a smile to my face when I do. I don't have much to say after that, but anything that you readers wish to say, say it. It's impossible for me to be offended at this point in my life, but it anything, it's criticism that I take dearly.  
Enough of that mumbo jumbo, I hope you all enjoyed this, it not, ok. Have a wonderful day, night, morning, dawn, evening, or hey, if you're in space that's cool to. Bye. **


	14. A Poisonous Encounter

**Not much to say currently besides I get the enjoyment of heading to DC for a big event on the 22** **nd** **. Thank you all for your continued reading, and because of it I won't be anywhere near stopping for the time being. Enjoy the chapter everyone.**

 _Rio Skyron:_ **That's more planning then I could ever wish to have. And that whole debacle is something I'm going to play with and hopefully, allow you to enjoy it as well.**

 _Skywardwanderer:_ **Why thank you very much, I plan to do so.**

… **.**

If there was a rule where in this cruel world, every time the literal worst situation that were to appear Gordon would always have a solution to it he would always be brought back something much more annoying than before and be forced to finish it even though he wasn't relatively connected to it; well one could say that he thought this was entirely stupid.

Fate is a cruel mistress, or three in certain cases, and they dabbled with his life on a daily basis at this point, and to try and connect it with certain events leading to more didn't make any sense at all. It was only natural after doing one thing, another would have occurred.

"So why does it have to be this of all things!" Gordon shouted while planting his foot into the largest stone pillar he'd even seen in his entire life, the stone stretching high enough to where he could no longer see it, and having the texture of incredible smoothness, never being tempered with in its entire time being here.

With a quick spin on his foot, he turned to the other four standing behind him with their arms crossed thinking from the looks of it. Jaune looked to be tapping his foot in annoyance to his surprise, an act he hadn't seen much in the young boy. Gordon decided to take advantage of this.

"Hey Joan, you have an idea on how to get passed this?"

"It's Jaune."

"Right, let's go with that, but the point still stands, just like this pillar, and at the current moment, we're stuck on this side of this chasm and not the other. We all know I can't jump this, and I doubt any of you could as well."

He saw the Nora start to raise her hand and open her mouth but was stopped rather quickly by Ren standing beside her. Now he was curious, but at the same time slightly worried at what she had come up with so quickly. Ruby started to say something but also stopped herself. What were they coming up with so easily? Surely it must be something complicated and nothing as simple as just walking around the massive crack for about three to four hours. Sure, they've been walking but they were so close to the next town already, so why not take a shortcut?

Ruby was fidgeting even more at this point and Jaune was still thinking with chin his hand. A quick reflex and Jaune was pointing towards Ruby, a question flying off his tongue. "Hit me with something Ruby."

She went wide eyed for a second before speaking clearly. "Why don't we just walk around it?"

Gordon almost fell to his knees in shock for a second. They were superpowered children from another world, well different from his world, and yet a large chasm with a massive pillar that could made with a certain something was not dawning on their mind yet. He just didn't understand it, yet it appeared to be that Jaune wasn't finished. His hand flung towards the clearly fidgeting girl who looked as if to have her arm glued to her side and her mouth zipped up, her eyes flaring like she wants to say something.

In an instant, the invisible grip that looked to be held upon her by Ren was let go and she was loose like a (Star Wars Monster) in a candy store full of humans.

"Nora, we have a road block what do you think?"

"I could un-roadblock that if I had about two-hundred of these," She pulled out one of her grenades that shared a very similar look to those he's fired before, but he knew they were very different for the fact that they exploded in a pink dust that seemed to go everywhere. "problem is, I only have about… ten, plus about five of my own, couple of cherry bombs… a road flare."

Gordon was speechless for about a second as a very memorable moment appeared in his mind. Jaune was now thinking again with his foot while Nora was digging through her bag once more. He grabbed the young bomber by the shoulders and turned her around, a surprised look on her face from the sudden movement.

"Have you ever heard of Atlantis?"

"Ant-land-what?"

"Did your family ever own a flower shop?"

"No, what does that- "

"Do you know a man named Vinny?"

"Who?"

Gordon sighed as he took off his glasses and rubbed his tired eyes. He didn't understand this at all, there was so many things that could be tied back to his world by this point upon Remnant, yet to no avail, there was absolutely no connection between the two, and because of this it was driving him crazy.

"Nothing don't worry about it. We'll just go with Ruby's- "

"Hold on a second."

Everyone's attention was drawn to the voice of the usually quiet boy. He walked up to Jaune and placed his hand on Jaune's shoulder while pointing down the chasm strip. "Let's just use that bridge."

"Bridge?" Everyone said in unison.

Eyes followed the finger and to the surprise of everyone, there was indeed a bridge. A rickety old, wooden, rope bridge.

"I'm going to have to say no on this one." Gordon said plainly.

The four children looked at him, curiosity in their eyes. Should they really be called children by this point, or would they be called adults? Does fighting evil monsters of the dark every day of their lives and participating in battles against the greater evil automatically age you by ten years or something? If that was the case, then he would be a senior citizen by that case; where is his cane and morning paper that he can enjoy while sitting at a café with others like him every morning.

Why was it now that he was questioning this predicament of all times, why not when he first saw them fighting the Grimm, or dealing with hardships that one would mostly see in adults? Hell, he didn't even know at this point, perhaps it was just the time that he realized that maybe he was the one that acted younger than he actual was. No, that wasn't the case, by his standards he's still in his twenties and is still trying to find out why the world fucks with him as it does.

"Why not?"

Ruby was the first one to ask this question, the others nodding their heads in unison. He paced for only a second before turning to them, pointing his hand towards the bridge.

"We're going to start to cross it and to no one's surprise there's going to be a swarm of crocodiles below. Then when we're in the very middle, we're going to get surrounded on both sides by a group of Grimm. It's bound to happen."

Gordon meant every word that he was saying. The entirety of Remnant is full of obscure references from either movies, games, comics, or even religious aspects from Earth, yet here they are. So, he'd taken it upon himself to take a step ahead of fate and challenge it head on, proving that science can indeed sever the string from the machine and let one's self determine where they go and how they live their life… Wow, he'd been here too long to even start talking about this.

"Forget it. Let's go."

He fixed the positioning of the Gravity Gun on his back and pushed onward while feeling the stares on his back of the four. Before long the footsteps were right behind him once again. Turning his head to the right, a bright flash of orange made him stumble off his footing for only a second. Nora was staring at him with stars in her eyes for a reason that he couldn't think of yet.

They shared a glance for a few more seconds before he spoke up, breaking the silence. "Yes?"

"You asked some weird questions earlier along with mentioning someone's name."

"I… I did…"

"Do I remind you of them?"

Gordon's stumbling of words stopped immediately. "Absolutely not-except for the fact that you use explosives. Just let me make something clear to put my mind at ease. Does the word nitroglycerin spark anything in your mind?"

She stared at him with a blank expression before shaking her head earning a relaxed sigh from Gordon, but having a question come from her as well.

"What is nitroglycerin?"

In that moment he regretted even asking. "I'm not a chemist or specialize in that field necessarily, but from what I know is that it's an organic nitrate compound and could be used for either medicinal use or explosives. From what I can remember, it was used in conjunction with… I think it was diatomaceous earth to create dynamite. A widely used explosive back in the old days before we found more effective ways to…" Gordons eyes wandered back to the orange haired bomber and the stars were back in her eyes along with a pure look of curiosity.

Oh no; he opened Pandora's box and released a slew of terror that could spell the demise of Remnant itself, or not. Gordon hasn't had the chance to get back into a scientific setting as of lately, and because of it was unable to determine the exact compound of this planet and its contents. For all he knew half of the periodic table might not even exist here and would make his job easier, but much harder all the same.

"No, I'm not going to show you how to make dynamite. You already have your dust filled grenades, the last thing you need is something of that caliber that was primarily used in blasting giant holes in mountains."

"You used it to blow holes in mountains?"

"I didn't use it for anything! I'm a scientist, not a demolitionist!" He threw his hands up into the air while they continued walking. Is this what people that are not scientist look at them like; just someone that is in a field of study and is supposed to know everything about any study ever and its contents and uses.

"Then…" She pointed a finger towards the device on his back. "Can you explain that?"

Grabbing ahold of the Gravity Gun and holding it in his hands, the orange glow accompanied by the slight hum of the device sent a warm feeling through him, even though the suit kept his body nice and cool as if he was sitting in an air-conditioned room.

"It's-It's complicated in a sense. While it may be physics, it's not the easiest thing to explain, and not to point out a clear fact, but anyone on Remnant wouldn't even get close to understanding the terminology that would be used to describe it. Haven't I already explained this to you already?"

The girl shrugged her shoulders before asking yet another question. "Then how about the small box you received in that package that was buried? It seemed like it was highly dangerous… and maybe explosive. Why didn't you carry that with you?" Nora seemed more animated when she said explosive, creating a small gesture of a blast with her hands. Gordon really didn't want her to touch anything from Earth that had the term _'explosive'_ listed with it.

Depleted uranium-235, the less radioactive version and is much more applicable to outside uses ranging from aircraft and medicinal therapy, to the things he's used to such as military uses. "It's something that you should never handle when given the opportunity. That is what trained professionals are for, handling dangerous materials that could easily change the flow of technology in an entirely new world."

"So, it is a weapon?"

"Itself isn't a weapon, rather a sort of ammunition for other's." He turned back to Nora after slinging the Gravity Gun onto his back. "Listen, a lot of the tools that I used, or use currently, I don't have the best understanding of; I dabble in an entirely different field when it comes to science than weaponry. It's more in the form of experimenting on teleportation if- "

"You can teleport too?"

"It's not-well not entirely at will, but you could too if you encountered a… Ahhh, just forget it. No, I can't. Something else makes that happen not of my own freewill." Gordon stated clearly. He wasn't wrong in that sense, any form of teleportation that he did experience be it within Black Mesa, City 17, or the massive outside world, he didn't have anything to do with it really.

He considered them all to be anomalies that were placed by either the Combine, or the man in the suit. The only teleportation device he remembered was Dr. Kleiner's invention in the secret room of the City, besides that they were all something he couldn't explain no matter how much he thought about it. It drove him away from sleep even to this day.

"Oh, the bridge." Those words drew him away from his thoughts, and to no surprise there was indeed the wooden bridge stretched out directly in front of him.

"Oh… the bridge." Gordon let the words flow out of his mouth only quiet enough for him to hear, the clear displeasure in his voice. It was exactly what he saw it from afar as, crippled and about ready to appear in an Indiana Jones film.

To his surprise, an almost forgotten voice complained from the back of his mind, a separate entity at this point that was slowly beginning to become much more vocal with everything around him. The _'Freeman's Mind'_ that wasn't his own. By this point throughout this journey to return home, it'd voiced itself more and more of the deepest of his own thoughts, those of which that he knew shouldn't be spoken because of respect of those around.

'This is ridiculous, why are we even doing this? If we just stay here, we could become gods with just our Ph.D. in theoretical physics and knowledge of quantum mechanics and its relativity; it's fool proof since they'd become befuddled by even hearing it!' The voice rambled off.

It said that word again; _our_ as if it was me as well. From what he Gordon could remember is that it would never refer to the two of them, but just himself… because that it was it was. The more cynical, neurotic individual that he never wanted anyone else to know about.

"Gordon! Gordon! Come on Doctor!" Gordon was broken from his daze and turning to the voice his eyes went widened. They were… they were crossing the bridge without any sort of worry.

'Look at them go all alone like children on a playground without any adult supervision, oh wait. We're an adult.'

Yes, I'm the adult here! Gordon charged after the four who were casually strolling across the bridge after ignoring his words from earlier, even though they sounded like a mad man's jabberwocky; his mumbo jumbo of another world. He didn't express it, but a slight tinge of anger was on his mind as he got closer to them.

Before he could call out to them, a violent jerk of the bridge beneath his feet sent a wave of worry over Gordon. Turning around to look back at the other side of the bridge, a worrisome sight appeared there. A cloak covering what he could only describe as a human was staring at them as they stood in the center of the bridge.

"Gor- "

"Get across right now! Don't stop until you're at where we marked on the map." Gordon shouted behind him as he took a step forward. Why was he doing this when he could just run with them? He had a strange feeling that if not taken care of now, this person would become much more problematic later.

Glancing back for only a second, he saw that the four were making their way across the rest of the bridge much quicker now, an almost sprint that carried their way. Sending his attention back to the cloaked man, he saw that his hand was on one of the bridge ropes. He could easily cut it right now and make this simply to easy by avoiding conflict altogether, or make it a fight he was now regretting having to participate in.

Taking another step forward, a flash of gold irises appeared within the shadowed hood. As Gordon squinted through his glasses, a flash of white accompanied it. The bastard was smirking towards him. A heavy feeling of annoyance flushed over Gordon as he continued to step towards the fool all while letting the voice ramble off inside his head.

'I've dealt with plenty of things that I don't necessarily agree with since coming here.' He began internally counting with his fingers his footsteps becoming heavier with each step. 'Magic, superpowered children, seductive fire woman, creatures of supposed darkness whose anatomy makes no sense, physics that don't make any sense from even what I've dealt with and walking everywhere I go.' Gordon stopped for a second while pulling out his crowbar.

'But there's some things that I'm just absolutely sure about whenever I see it.' He pointed the crowbar towards the smirking figure. 'It's that if someone's happy because of my shitty predicament that's probably their fault to begin with, then you're practically asking for me to wipe away that shit eating grin anyways!'

The smirk quickly faded away much to Gordon's pleasure, only for the figure to pull out what appeared to be… two blades on the figures wrist. He was going to cut the rope while he was still on the bridge to completely avoid getting the life beat out of him.

The eyes glanced down at his wrist before back to Gordon, the gold irises were quickly replaced by a purple color much to his surprise. Along with the sudden change of the eyes, the smirk had returned as well, their grin much wider than before.

Gordon shook his head in what he could only tell to be a futile attempt at stopping the figure from cutting the bridge. 'Don't you do it bastard. At least wait until I'm over there kicking your ass…' "Please?" Gordon muttered under his breath, unable to reach towards the cloaked figures ears. The figure only nodded their hidden head opposite of him and brought the blade closer and closer to the rope.

Gordon spun on his heels and began to sprint towards the opposite side of the bridge, the boots of the HEV heavily stepping on the planks of wood beneath his feet, some falling out behind him from the impact of his sprinting. He took one quick glance behind him only to see the blade rise above the figures head, the smile on purple eyes staring at his back… and the rope severed from the wooden poles once maintaining the knot keeping it in place.

'Nonono, NO! Why is it always a bridge!'

Everything happened so quickly for Gordon in that instant. The speed he had was lost incredibly fast, and any momentum that could have been gained was relinquished as well. Before he could fall any further down, he bent his knees slightly and activated the device upon his back, launching him forward in a much worse manner than he expected.

The toes of his boots broke through a multitude of planks, sending splinters up into his vision as his body began to tumble on the now falling bridge. In a wild attempt to save himself from the plundering doom that would soon come, he took ahold of the rope flailing next to him.

 _Minor Lacerations Detected_

"I don't remember any of my previous jumps ever ending up like this." Gordon spit out a few splinters that ended up in his mouth to his surprise. Looking down at the ground oh so far below him, he only muttered to himself. "At least the fall would be faster then at Black Mesa…" His feet dangled slightly before he coiled them around the rope he held onto. Looking back across the chasm up where the figure cut the rope-there was nothing.

'Bastard ran away.'

Sighing, Gordon gripped the rope tighter while glancing up the now broken bridge only too see a familiar face staring down towards him. It was Jaune, and on his face was now what he could only describe as a relieved look. Did he honestly think that he would have died to such a thing, or was this a normal thing to die to if you weren't a Hunter on Remnant? Needless to say, his pride was hurt, but only slightly.

Climbing up the rope wasn't challenging in the slightest, and if anything, it took away the stress on his feet after walking for so long. Reaching the top, two arms on both sides of him grabbed ahold and picked him up with what he could tell to be a slight struggle, not entirely his fault that he possibly weighed over three-hundred pounds.

Finally standing to his feet right next to the edge, he patted himself off whatever might have stayed on the suit. To Gordon's dismay, there were only more smudges from his gloves. If only they had a carwash for suits.

"You okay Doctor?" Gordon turned his head and saw that Ren was now walking up to him, a worrisome look on his face.

A simple nod of his head confirmed the boy's worry. He was perfectly fine in his own mind, not the first time he'd been almost killed. It was practically an everything day by this point.

The four around him let out a sigh of relief. Shouldn't he be the one doing this since he survived yet again? Why did these four places so much worry in him again? Sure, Gordon wasn't a superhuman, but didn't saving an entire planet earn some trust when it came to be doing this sort of work?

"What happened on the bridge? We heard you tell us to run, and by the time we reached the other side it was already falling." Little Red asked. Gordon chuckled to himself to that name that he mentally gave to Ruby. She wasn't necessarily Red Riding Hood, but it was close enough along with the fact that she was the shortest of them all. He probably wasn't going to stick with it, but it was enjoyable nonetheless.

"You didn't… You didn't see who did it?"

Much to his surprise, their looks gave him the answer he didn't want. They didn't see a single thing while running. Apparently, the thought to turn around and give a single glance didn't come across their mind until crossing the entire bridge. Letting out a mental sigh, Gordon spoke up.

"It seems that some trouble might come around again before we arrive at Haven. We still have things to do. A little roadblock shouldn't stop us now should it?" Gordon smiled before stepping past Jaune while placing his hand on the boy's shoulder. "Now then, which way now?"

Silence sat in the air after he asked that question. Turning his head, the four had their heads turned away from him as he could visibly see Jaune sweating from nervousness. "Jaune, where are we heading?"

"Uhhh. I think I might have… made a little mistake?"

Gordon cursed internally at this remark. He knew exactly what this mistake was, and in no way did he want to accept it either. "And what that might be?"

"We went the wrong way."

Gordon's feet almost let themselves carry him into the chasm below. He didn't know what to do and started to grip tighter on the shoulder of Jaune before he mentally stopped his entire body before turning back to the boy with a soft, false smile, and a huge lie behind it. "That's fine; I guess we better get walking."

….

Gordon didn't know what to say after passing through most of current village, or was it even that necessarily? According to Ren it was supposed to be an escape from one of the Kingdoms if he could remember correctly; Mistral was it? Apparently the rich disliked the current way of governing the Kingdom, however that was he wasn't to sure about how they went about it, but they pooled together their resources and began building a town called Oniyuri. But with many things in this new world, they must be able to survive one thing, and pretty much one thing only, the Grimm.

It didn't, and so it fell or rather they just abandoned it. While Gordon didn't want to say that this was just the natural course of life since it was on an entirely different planet than his own, but the same constraints remain in that sense. Wildlife and the entirety of nature itself is a battle of its own when creating something away from the area's humanity have already settled, so it was bound to happen to those without a strong enough conviction to go on and finish it

The more they stayed there, the longer it started to grow on his mind. While he never personally visited any of the Asian countries, he'd seen the research and a plentiful of pictures originate from there. The architecture seemed to have had a heavy influence throughout Mistral as if someone before him had started the trend here. Gordon never thought about asking about the architecture since it didn't seem to be a big deal at first, but if he's going to be here for however much longer, might as well learn something.

Getting closer to the edge of the remains of Oniyuri, their pace started to slow down and in a quick action Ren held his hand up to stop them. Silence sat in the air for a few seconds before he lowered his hands and grabbed ahold of his weapons, the others doing the same.

'I can never get a brake, can I?' Gordon mumbled to himself as he took hold of his crowbar, brandishing it in one hand while the other started to reach towards a non-existent handgun that would normally be on his thigh. A sigh escaped his lips as he went to two-handing the metal rod.

The next few seconds took Gordon by surprise. Maybe it was the way the wind blew through his hair but glancing upwards provided him with a new sight. A man was jumping off on of the buildings to their side. He could only stare as the man flipped through the air with ease, arcing over their entire group before landing on the ground crouched down to the ground.

"Haaah!" Curved blades extended from his wrists while he flashed a smile. A smile Gordon knew all to well already.

"You?" His stance fell soft already after he spoke, missing the entire atmosphere that was about to commence.

The man dashed forward the smile still on his face while a maniacal laughter erupted from him. Immediately Ren clashed blades with the man. Quick gunshots erupted from the boy's gun-blades only to be ineffective against the man as he blocked them. Another bout of kicks and swings came from the two, but Ren was swiftly sent flying by the man's kick off into the distance.

Gordon made a step forward to confront the man, but he dashed towards Ruby completely bypassing him much to his annoyance. They too clashed with their blades, but not to his surprise she was easily being pushed back. The combination of kicks and slashes from him while he was so close made her attempt at using the scythe almost completely ineffective. Another swing and a yelp came from Ruby as she fell to the ground, only for Jaune to replace her.

It was hardly a fight in Gordon's eyes as he just stared at what was going on. The man jumped onto his shield and held himself there, and Jaune only stared at the man for a second before leaning in closer almost frightening the boy.

Nora was running up behind him, but before she could reach the man, he kicked off Jaune while sending him flying backwards and over her. He landed on her hammer, and with an immense amount of strength… he launched himself into a tower and broke it?

Gordon had been only watching this entire ordeal much to his displeasure. He wanted to pummel the man for mocking him earlier on, but simply wasn't fast enough in this situation. Now instead he was staring at the man in the tower who was just standing there in yet another mocking pose.

Jaune was the first to shout towards the man, and what he said voiced the opposite of what Gordon wanted. "We're not looking for a fight!" to which Ren quickly followed up with a question which was on everyone's mind. "Who are you?"

The dust finally started to clear, and the mans face was shown to be smiling down at them in yet the same mocking tone it had been in since this ordeal started. A quick motion and the man began to fall towards the ground before falling in a crouched position once again, a superhero pose if one could describe it. He stood up and took a pose of what he could tell to be that of a noble English man, one hand behind his back while the other motioned alongside his voice, his mocking tone.

"Who I am matters not to you," He gestured towards Ren, "Or you" then to Nora, "Or…." He paused for a moment while gesturing to Jaune. "Well-you do interest me."

Gordon slid back into the group, his positioning was horribly off when this all started, and since he never took a step anywhere, this too left him out at first. 'I'll just stand behind everyone, and while I may be the tallest of us, it'll serve as a small distraction only to be overcome by the diverse amount of colors in front of me.'

Jaune recoiled slightly as the man continued to talk. "No, I only matter to you… and I shouldn't even have to say this to the other, now should I?" The finger went passed Jaune…and was pointed directly towards Ruby. It went quiet once again only for Ruby to tilt her head slightly and respond.

"Me?"

Gordon didn't even want to say anything, let alone hear it anymore. He clearly disrupted the flow of things, and with it earned himself a prized bounty above his head by whoever controls these demonic beasts of darkness. He didn't mean to start a personal war again, he was brought here without his consent.

The man started to laugh, enough to the point where he had his hands on his knees. He finally picked himself up still chuckling slightly before tossing his arms out to the side. "You haven't the slightest clue, do you?" He questioned in his never-ending mocking tone. "Oh, how exciting this must be!"

Ruby started to open her mouth before Gordon stepped forward. He needed to ask questions. While he may not be the best guardian, he was one nonetheless. "Answer the question. Who are you and what do you want."

The man gasped slightly while placing his hand on his chest. "Oh, the nerd has courage, and is that a dangerous flower standing behind the pitiful fool? I've simply come to whisk the flower away with me and send the overly confident book-worm back where he belongs-into the ground."

Nora then stepped in, her voice holding hostility. "What if she doesn't want to go with you, or even go back into the ground." She whispered to Gordon quietly. "You are from the ground, right?"

He didn't know how to respond to this. The atmosphere was clearly one of seriousness and here she was asking such a question.

The man had a frown on his face as his hand fell to his side, speaking once again. "Well, I'll take her, and dig a really big hole as well."

Jaune then stepped in front of them. "We're not going to let you do that."

The man let out a sigh before glaring at them with a large smile. "Goood."

Everything moved so fast in that moment. Gordon saw but a blur, yet here he was now right behind Jaune, his blades readying themselves to sever the boy's head from his body. Ren called out to him and let a slew of bullets fly his way only to be reflected off his shield and towards the man. He propped himself up onto the shield and began spinning atop of it… like a top while Ruby ran to the side, readying herself to attack; only for it to fail and be kicked away like nothing.

Gordon couldn't find a time to step in at this moment. So, used to fighting alone, just watching this display of teamwork put him into a sense of disarray. He'd love to just shoot the man and end this all, yet if her were to do so with the Gravity Gun, there would be to large of a risk of hitting any of the others and injuring them. And even with his crowbar, seeing how fast this was all going he'd end up getting hit by one of the others.

The man started to run towards Nora, yet what he expected to be Ruby shooting at the man's back- only rewarded him with something else entirely different. A flash of electricity flushed over Nora, sending her back into and up into a cloud of dust.

Gordon's mind started spinning at this point. Remember he kept telling himself, remember why she would even do such a thing. Then it spoke.

'Pick up the damn hammer!'

He reached towards the Gravity Gun on his back and pointed it towards the fallen Nora. With a push of the button, the hammer started to move, only for him to feel a heavy sense of resistance. He tried again, yet to his surprise it didn't come towards him. The man was talking all this time, but he didn't care about this at all, he had to act. Hitting the button once more, he felt nothing at all, no resistance, yet rather a pulling sensation as his feet began to slide towards the dust cloud that was now dispersing.

'Wait wait wait, what the hell is going on? I'm supposed to do the pulling, not the other way around!'

The dust was now gone, and in his sights was a Nora, covered in what he could only describe to be pulsating electricity arcing along the outside of her body.

Gordon was still being pulled at this moment, something he wished would stop much sooner then what it showed it to be. So close now, the attention of Nora's was also drawn to him, and with it, a small arc going into the gun.

The pulling finally stopped, and with it was Nora launching herself towards the man, hammer in hand with speed that only left another blur in Gordon's eyes. Only able to turn his head, pink arcs erupted across the man along with a dust cloud and a gale of wind threatening to blow him back into the wall if he hadn't planted his feet as he did.

The cloud settled, and what he saw surprised him like no other. A scorpion tale had stopped the hammer of Nora, the one who demonstrated such a force that would easily crater the ground if impacted. What had his attention wasn't the fact that it was stopped, but rather that the man had a working scorpion like tale protruding from his back.

The man was chuckling while Nora struggled to push her hammer further down.

"Surprise." The man removed his tale and knocked Nora off to the side with his feet before flipping up into the air and removing his coat in the process. He now stood atop a small stone bridge, and while Gordon finally made his way to the other four, they were all staring at him now in a sense of awe, or confusion.

Ren spoke up. "He's… a Faunus?" Before Gordon could reassure what, he heard, Ruby started speaking.

"What is this about? The White Fang? Roman Torchwick?"

"Plastic soldiers and pawns. My heart and body belong only to out goddess." The man's now mocking attitude was accompanied by the tail, mimicking his actions in a sense.

Ruby spoke quieter than before, a with much more malice. "Cinder."

The man 'hmphed' with his arms still stretched out. "Only in her wildest dreams." He spoke wide eyed, the gold iris's standing out amongst the white. He flung himself down with intense speed, a characteristic Gordon was starting to get annoyed with.

He was behind them now, his tail hanging freely in the air and his blades out once more. And yet without his help once again, he could only stand there and experience the seat of a spectator, while also struggling with his current situation directly in his hands. His gravity gun no longer held the original orange hue that it had when he first goes it, instead it had a strange pink glow so foreign he didn't even know what to think of it.

Turning his head to his surrounding, a new sight took place. No longer was everyone fight, yet instead he saw that they were either kneeling or lying on the ground. What stood out most of all was Ruby struggling to stand up, the sight of what he could only tell is her Aura finally being broken he guessed, and the man walking up to her with the stinger readying itself to proceed with it's intended purpose.

Gordon saw Ruby's scythe sitting close to her, and had the same idea appear in his mind once more. Raising the changed Gravity Gun towards it, he pressed his thumb onto the trigger, and the strangest experience took hold of him. Instead of pulling it towards him, a force like no other began pulling him through the air then onto the ground, dragging him with such immense speed he could visibly see the color scrapping itself off his suit along with his health draining from the counter in his lower vision; the shield practically evaporated after the first few initial slams on the ground.

 _Minor Fractures Detected_

 _Minor Lacerations Detected_

 _Morphine Administered_

The light feeling flowed through his body as his hands screamed to let go of the Gravity Gun, yet for some odd reason he couldn't do it. While time began to slow down for Gordon his surrounding became clearer and clearer as an electric feeling ran through him as well. Nora and Ren watched Ruby with worried eyes as she tried to help the boy up. Jaune could only watch as what he guessed the ending to be happen right in front of his powerless self.

Then there was the breaking wall that was happening on the adjacent tower. What Gordon figured to be everything slowing down, he finally recognized it, he was moving that fast. The breaking wall finally started to take shape, and that shape was what he could only call an accomplice revealing themselves. It was Qrow. Taking notice of what he was trying to do, he knew it was hopeless as Gordon got closer and closer to Ruby and the man. He wouldn't make it in time to stop it, but he knew who could. None other than the dammed book-worm that is going to make the scorpion man's life hell.

Time sped up once again, and the force he could calculate on such a short notice was nothing short of impressive. A full-grown male accompanied by a full body, minus the helmet, hazardous environment suit being launched at easily over one-hundred feet a second about sixty feet, it would be a wonder if the man still a torso had remaining afterwards.

The impact happened so fast that after hitting the man, they both flew back and slammed into the wall only to fly through that as well, stone debris flying around them as they continued to tumble as one.

By the time the two of them finally stopped, the grey sky was the only thing Gordon could see at this moment. What broke the silence around him was a loud beeping, one that he was tired of hearing already.

 _Major Fractures Detected_

 _Morphine Administered_

 _Vital Signs Critical_

 _Seek Medical Attention_

He felt like spitting out a tooth at this point, as he was sure that he was the one to break the stone wall leading to the outside. Sitting up slightly, he felt the stabbing pains throughout his body screaming at him to lay back down and just go to sleep, hoping that it would fix it all. Unfortunately, he knew better than that, and seeing on how he couldn't see a certain individual he couldn't afford to relax.

Taking to his feet Gordon was almost thrown off by the sight after looking behind him. What he guessed to be the trail they left behind was truly a mess. A path of dirt being thrown around and what he could only tell to be a tree collapsed over along with a few more stones broken as well. It was a miracle of sorts that he wasn't dead, or maybe it was the baloney magic that 'he inherited' after arriving here and dealing with that mess. Whatever it was, he was happy that he wasn't dead.

Glancing around once again to make sure that the man wasn't here, he was rewarded with that fact that he indeed wasn't. 'Heh, lucky him. If I had the chance again, I would've done some real damage to those teeth of this, maybe even rip off that stupid tail of his.'

Chuckling at that comment, a slight rustling of bushes caused him to take a quick turn and check what it was. What came next was not what he was expecting. It was nothing.

A sigh escaped his lips again. He's seemed to sigh more and more since coming here. "I need to get back to Ruby and the others. Seeing on how Qrow's here, it can't really get any worse now can it?"

Turning back around, he regretted those words immensely.

A sharp pain erupted from his chest, and his feet could no longer take a step forward, let alone move. He tried to move his hands up to where the pain was originating from, but instead two hands were placed on his shoulders, a slight laugh going into one ear. Seeing what the cause of the pain was sent shocks throughout his system. Curled around his left shoulder was a familiar tail and sticking into his suit and upper left chest was a stinger that he could physically feel sliding the venom into his system. The laugh stopped for but a second and was replaced with that mocking tone.

"I was going to have more fun, but roses tend to disappear when others are around for too long. I'll be back later to clean up. My Goddess doesn't approve of such messes when presented in front of her." Another bone chilling laugh came from the man as the stinger plunked itself out and retracted out of his vision once more.

Gordon wanted to move, but his body was frozen in place. A slight nudge came from behind, and with it his body fell forward limply and onto the ground. He wanted to grunt in pain, yet he could feel nothing, not even the immense fear of dying as his suit blared out.

 _Warning! Blood-Toxin Levels Detected_

 _Warning! Bio-Hazard Detected_

 _Unknown Toxin Detected-Approximate Time for Antidote Administration is Unknown_

 _Emergency! User Death Imminent!_

 _Seek Medical Attention_

He could feel the darkening sensation encroaching upon him quicker and quicker as the small health counter in the corner of his eye fell lower and lower. A loud cracking sound erupted from in front of him as a color of teal practically split reality in front of him, and with it fell out a small brown box. Immediately after the split appeared, it disappeared, and with it leaving the small box with a very familiar red cross on it, a blue hue emitting from it.

….

Ruby was panicking to say the least. Her uncle Qrow had come out of nowhere after an orange blur took away Tyrian and to who knows where only for him to return with a grin larger then it was before. Not only that but Gordon was nowhere to be seen. Through some turn of luck and immense worrying, they ran off Tyrian but not before he struck uncle Qrow while his stinger was still attached and from the looks of it, poisoned him.

She really needed Gordon to be here since he's a doctor, and he could somehow fix uncle Qrow and move forward onto Haven. She held her head in her hands as more and more thoughts were processed through her mind. There was so much going on at the current moment, and with new names and apparent fairy tales being mixed into everything, Ruby didn't know what to think at this time.

Raising her head and glancing around for a second, she could see everything, yet it just felt so off as well. Though he never said much, Gordon had done some things that she could still not understand at this point. He would shout at himself at times and mumble at the others, sometimes she would hear talk of pirates or science terms she'd never understand even if he tried to explain to her. Most of this was done when he was asleep, which was rare enough, but when he did; he did so before anyone else, passing out standing up or slouching over a log. He never used the sleeping bag or that he had, and rarely ate anything as well.

For an alien/human that didn't have an aura, she wasn't sure even at this point what to think of him. If anything, a certain part of him reminded her of Weiss and her attitude at times, and other parts were like Blake where she would quietly watch and smile from time to time while offering her own opinions at times.

Just nothing felt right at the current moment, and she couldn't stand it. Standing up, she walked over to the opening to the courtyard they were in, and cupping her mouth shouted. "Gordon, where are you!"

After waiting for a few more minutes after shouting, there was no response. Turing around, she went back to where she was sitting and plopped back down, placing her head in her hands. Ruby wanted to cry, to go back to school, to just have everything go back to normal with her and her team. But she was here doing what full grown Hunters like her uncle Qrow deal with all the time.

"Why does growing up have so many troubles associated with it. I just want to enjoy cookies with my friends again…" She pouted.

"I can completely agree with you. Being adults suck, but I guess dealing with it is part of the whole 'growing up' part."

Ruby nodded her head in agreement with the voice before widening her eyes and lifting her head. A wave of surprise took her over as her eyes scanned the individual sitting next to her. Gordon Freeman, the orange suited scientist sitting next to her eating an ice-cream cone. His suit was scratched much more than usual, sliver tones stretching from his chest plate over to his shoulders, chips and what she could tell to be cracks appeared to be very little, but there still.

"But thankfully being an adult doesn't stop you from enjoying things like this." He turned to her and held a blue package with what she could only describe as a blue bunny upon it. "Here, for doing a good job today. We all deserve one, even your drunken uncle Qrow." The man was smiling with a small milk mustache from the melted ice-cream.

….

 **Look at that, the chapter's done. I hope you all enjoyed it, I know I did. You can already tell this chapter is only slightly longer than the others, but that's only because I need a slight excuse from not being able to post maybe next month. I'm testing out of school on the 1** **st** **and then will be heading out to sea for three months, stopping occasionally now and then at places where we have internet. That just means more writing for me and you readers, so that also means longer chapters from this point onward; yeah!**

 **Go ahead and say what you will, it's all for a greater good in the next chapter. See you all next time you wonderful readers.**


	15. New Findings, Old Meetings

**Well would you look at that, it's finally out now isn't it? It's not as long as I'd personally like it to be, but I procrastinated extremely, and life in Hawaii is something that a lot of people can't just experience. Nonetheless, it's here, and I really have nothing else to say besides that, enjoy.**

 **I don't own anything.**

…

Shepard stood up from the rock he was sitting on, the sudden change in atmosphere around him drastically alarming him in pair with the newly found information sitting in his hands. His body wanted to grip said info and crumple it into but a small paper ball and toss it into the nearest trash if possible, but he knew better to even think of doing such a thing. The manila folder was compiled with a slew of bio's which were given to him in the chance that if he were to encounter said individuals that he could understand them to a sense and with it successfully cooperate with them without being violently attacked for the simple fact that he looks dangerous.

It was the standard gear of those who served within the _HECU_ , and when compared to the others that were walking around this island it most certainly didn't entirely out of place. There were those wearing what looked to be metal armor of sorts like one would see on knights of old, or even Japanese style armor that he'd seen in the books that Davis would read from time to time when they weren't training their asses off.

Going off that, it wasn't crazy to assume that he would blend in; but as he always heard when he was younger by his aunt, _"Assuming makes an ass out of you and me Adrian, and you better remember that."_

Out of all things that the drunken woman spoke about, it was that single line he kept in his mind, and thanks to that it kept him out of more trouble before this entire ordeal, that and the excessive sleeping.

Glancing upwards and raising his hand to partially cover the bright sun he noticed those around him and their actions in response to the supposed heat. People where covering themselves with towels or wiping themselves with it in an attempt to rid themselves of the sweat. There were those linning the drink stalls and in their hands were small cards that he guessed were just credit cards of sort.

That brought to questions to his attention. One, if everyone appeared to be sweating from the supposed intense heat on this bright sunny day, why was he, in a fully suited BDU, a PCV, and a gasmask, and here he was feeling perfectly fine without any care of burning up. This became even more apparent as he vividly remembered while he was at Black Mesa, he could practically feel himself swimming in his sweat from time to time. Shepard even thought about taking off his equipment in an effort to blend in, but that lead to the next question.

Second, Shepard had no sort of cash whatsoever. Looking back, he hardly ever took wallet out of his front pocket, he had no reason too. Never carried it in his back pocket all because of certain pick-pockets finding a way to grab what you can't see. That and he never really spent anything that he earned however little it was. Patting himself down in a quick search, he came to the realization that he didn't want to admit. Adrian Shepard was missing the wallet that he just proclaimed that he had on his person at all times.

He wanted to curse at the world for causing this, even though it probably had nothing to do with it at all. Shepard quickly thought about just making a quick dash seeing on how most of these stalls were open and didn't have a door to stop him from leaving. Then the realization that he could be spotted like a croc in a group of gators **[1]** came upon him rather quickly. The moment he thought of that a pair of, if he remembered correctly, Faunus that each had distinct features of those very reptiles he mentioned beforehand. Strangely enough it even furthered his aforementioned phrase as he could easily point out which was which, and in return for him staring at the two, they also shot him a rather nasty glance.

'Just like earth more and more I see; staring is always frowned upon.'

Sighing to himself, Shepard started to make his way back to the only place that he could have left his wallet, the home of Ghira Belladonna, the Chieftain of Menagerie. Taking a few more steps Shepard remembered a small action that caught his eye when he was first talking with the man. Bring the folder up, he quickly flipped to the back of it, and to his surprise there was indeed a newly added page. A picture of the hulking man was standing there as if he had his picture taken for this exact purpose.

'Name, positions, relationships, I feel like I'm having information purposely left out of this- wait a minute. Former leader of the White Fang; that sounds like some sort of anarchist group or something of the sort. If he's the former leader, that really makes me question on what psychopath would be leading something like that now if he's still alive. It's normally that one dies then the next takes over; not retire from the position.'

Shepard pushed the White Fang to the side and closed the folder once more before stopping in his tracks. Standing a small distance in front of him was a figure that stood out from the crowd, and not in a good way. Bright yellow hair and a tail to accompany it paired with an open shirt and pants, all together completed a young man that was staring directly at him curiosity in his eyes.

Shepard remembered his exact words from before; he was most certainly the croc surrounded by gators. Without even thinking, he spun on his heels and started dashing away from the man and into what the crowed that started to form behind him. He heard the man shouting immediately,

" _Stop!"_

Short and simple, but in no way was he going to. Running proved no difficulty for him as he ducked and weaved between those who would occasionally get in his way. Shooting a quick glance behind him, a new sight confirmed what he didn't want. The man was getting closer, and in a way, he didn't expect. The man was running on top of people's heads and the stalls as well.

'What kind of ninja bullshit is this? I thought I was dealing with superpowered children, not-oh wait.'

He quickly shook away the fact that he was running from a superpowered child now. Did he have a plan to end this chase? No, but he did have someone that could… he would just have to find that certain individual, or individuals in a timely manner before he got caught and do so without even knowing where they might be at. Fantastic.

Shepard pulled out his gun, he knew there wasn't anything in there, but intimidation does wonders on people. Pushing past a few more people, a light shown in front of him; an alleyway. The crowd was starting to thin, or rather they were purposely thinning on their own because of the chase that was happening.

'Come on legs, move faster dammit!' He cursed at himself, and surprisingly enough… it worked. Like his body moved on its own, a sudden crisp movement allowed his feet to leave the ground and in a strange motion began to propel itself forward with Shepard left to its will. His surroundings turned into a blur and his entire body flashed past the eyes of those who had the chance to watch.

A single feeling ran through his mind at this very moment, _survival,_ and with it a peculiar set of words that reminded him of a certain individual that he grew to dislike very much. His will to survive is what will carry him through this alien world, and nothing else, no matter what anyone, or anything tried to do.

Not taking the chance to even glance back at his pursuer, he knew that he'd have to stop in some way. In a split second he saw an alleyway that would serve a perfect escape for that reason. His hands reached out for anything he could grab onto anything to slow his speed, but instead took ahold of a metal pole ejecting out from the ground in one of the strangest spots.

Shepard's hands wrapped around the pole and a quick change of direction over took him, and the G-Force that he experienced in that split second gave him the feeling that it would have killed any normal man. Thankfully for him, he doubted he was just any normal man after waking up in this world.

The speed he once had didn't just disappear either, instead it turned him into something much more, a slow, but still fast human bullet. The once dumpster that was sitting ever idle was impacted by Shepard and torn threw. Tossing him into the air from the impact, he fell to the ground in a loud _thump,_ dust and trash alike was thrown up into the air.

Pain encased his entire being, and any sort of movement proved more difficult then he would like to imagine even though it was reality. He was sure that something was broken, maybe a rib or two; possibly a dislocation of a shoulder or something even worse. He wasn't entirely sure on what it could have been, but he was sure that he was tasting blood.

A few more seconds of lying still and a revelation came to him through the suit's morphine administration. The pain that he was experiencing was dwelling down, but not fast enough. Finally moving his arms, Shepard was able to prop himself up onto his knees, there he found himself staring down the alleyway he just launched into. The dumpster was more of a mess than he was, the entire thing turned into a useless metal clump since it was now crushed beyond recognition.

Shaking his head free of the floating stars, he finally came to his senses and got an even clearer look at his surroundings. His suit still read a surprising one-hundred, and there was no visible damage on his body. He went to rub his arm and noticed a missing feeling, that of which was originally resting in his hand, the gun.

Glancing quickly, he started to make quick work of flipping over any object that he could in hopes of finding that which he lost. While it wasn't the worst thing to happen, it as still something that they could use as leverage against him when facing anyone that he would run into that had it.

"Goddammit! Where the hell is it?"

"Where is what?"

Shepard stopped searching and stood rather still before turning around to where he heard the voice. Nothing; there was nothing there at all. Just an empty space which led out back onto another street with civilians walking, or just continuing their daily business.

He sighed to himself. Now he was just hearing things. Next thing he knows is that he'll be meeting some sort of foreign god, pshh. Turning back around to continue his search and face interrupted that entire process. The young man that he was running away from was currently upside and directly in front of him. Shepard took a double take and glanced upwards to see that he was hanging from his tail, and then looked back at him. He took a step back to distance himself from the boy and noticed two things that he now defiantly knew were where they shouldn't be.

In one hand was the glossy, or somewhat glossy handgun he knew too well, and in the other was the entire manila folder that could ruin his entire career as a human being. Shepard held out his hands towards the boy and started what he could best describe as negotiations.

"All right Faunus…Monkey boy? Did I get that right?"

His expression didn't change, instead it almost looked as if he was insulted in the worst way possible.

"Those don't belong to you, but- "

"Then who do they belong to?"

Shepard sighed internally. Thankfully he couldn't see his face under the gasmask or he could visibly tell that he was starting to get agitated. His foot slid back, and he took a stance with his hands raised. "Corporal Adrian Shepard of the United States Marine Corps. Any more tampering then I'll be forced to use force."

He could tell that the boy had a smile on his face now. Trouble was coming, and he was most certainly not wanting to deal with it right now. He had nowhere else to go and he had to go back to the only place he knew was somewhat moderately safe.

"So, you're with Atlas huh?" There it was again, _ATLAS._ He sure didn't know what the hell it meant, but he guessed it was a military force of sorts. "Some sort of fancy, top secret team name I suppose? Would you say these here are extremely important documents?"

"Yes- I mean- Goddammit!" Shepard cursed out loud this time, this also earning a reaction from the monkey boy, the now new nickname he had given the boy since he didn't care to know his name.

"So, if I took a look at these, would you say it could contain secret plans?"

"Absolutely not. They are, in no way, plans for anything at all." Shepard said with confidence, his stance relaxing only slightly. It's not as if he was lying about what he said, it was indeed nothing but personal bios of individuals that knew nothing about him, yet he was tasked to protect them. In no way did it have secret plans to overthrow this current world in anyway possible…he hoped.

Monkey boy hesitated for a single second, but all hopes that Shepard had were shot down in an instant. He glanced towards the handgun before tucking it behind him and taking the folder in both hands. Slowly he started to open it, and perhaps if Shepard had taken this chance to move, he could have prevented something entirely worse from happening, thankfully he chose to do so.

Kicking his feet back it launched a small object into the air in front of the two, he took hold of whatever he could and with a quick flick of the wrist, the object was sent flying towards the boy's face. To his advantage, he didn't even see it coming as he was to be engrossed in what lied within the folder and because of this was taken by surprise as a flash of yellow disturbed his balance with his tail.

"Woooah!"

Shepard took advantage of the situation and let his arm reel back with his hand balled into a fist.

A quick, swift motion of his fist, and he was now on the ground. Shepard walked over to the collapsed boy who was now starting to make his way to his feet but was stopped by Shepard's foot on his hand which held the folder. Bending down to pick it up, he also reached back and took ahold of the handgun that was resting safely in the back pocket of the boy. A small chuckle and a smile under his mask reassured his confidence as he tucked the gun away in its holster and put the folder under his arm.

The monkey boy was now looking up at him with the said piece of garbage sliding down his face, a banana peel. It was entirely ironic on how someone who was so close to a monkey would fall to said favorite food, and what makes it even better is that he would stumble after hitting his face instead of the classic skit of slipping on the peel.

"You should stay down, I don't want to hurt you." Real big words coming from Shepard. In terms he had all the advantages in this situation as long as he didn't fail to take in his surroundings and-

"Hey Atlas pig, get off of him and face us!"

Shepard lost it all, his patience, his confidence, all of it because of the exact thing he was supposed to be doing, yet he didn't do. He didn't want to turn around and be judged more than he already was. He could see it now, and this was only exemplified by the fact that he was stepping on someone younger than him and looked all the more threatening with how he was dressed. In no way could he turn this around for the better, but he still had to try.

Turning around while smiling even though it meant nothing since he had his mask on, he attempted to speak to his newly arrived witnesses. "I can assure you officer that I have done nothing to this boy; I have simply returned what is rightfully mine…" Shepard stopped as he glanced at the group that was staring him down. "You're not officers of the law, are you?"

Standing across from him in the alley were five threatening individuals, well threatening in a way that one would describe a group of bullies who dress the same. White masks that resembled on another just as their clothing, along with the fact that each of them had different animal aspects that appeared on one another.

Shepard reached up to his nose to, in an attempt, pinch the bridge of his nose in annoyance. To his dismay this failed because of his mask and instead settled on letting out a sigh. "You know what, I'm just gonna go." He pointed towards the opposite direction of where he flew in to an open street with bustling civilians. Making a quick spin on his foot, he began to walk away when a tingling sensation overtook him and stepped to the side while raising his hand in an attempt to catch whatever was flying him rather quickly.

A sudden impact upon his hand confirmed his thoughts as he turned back to face the group, one of them appeared to have just thrown something towards him, a stunned look on his face; well the most one can tell of someone looking stunned with a mask on.

Shepard smiled under his mask and when he went to check his hand to see what he caught, a different sight overtook him. Holding his palm facing towards him, a black handle stuck straight up at him, but what seemed even stranger was the pain that was emanating from his hand.

He turned away as he flipped his hand over, and after sending a quick glance towards it there was no longer a black handle but instead a red, shimmering blade that looked to be rather sharp coming out of the back of his hand.

Holding his breath still, he kept his attention on his hand and held it up sideways to his eyes, and a fear was most certainly confirmed. Sticking from the palm of his hand was a black handle, while on the other side parallel to the handle was the blade. He didn't just _catch_ the blade, he caught it with his hand… by letting it impale itself through his palm.

A hand came up to cover where his mouth would be and instead just landed on the mask, still stifling the pained groan, or maybe scream that would have erupted from his mouth. Shepard's eyes bulged in surprise at that newfound object that stuck from his hand, his head now snapping from the thugs back to his hand multiple times before the hand covering his mouth broke away and started pointing towards the group.

In his mind he screamed at them, in a rather shaky voice at that. 'What kind of asshole throws a knife at someone that isn't even facing them, and to add onto the fact someone you just met? Were you trying to kill me? You know that's murder right; like actual murder! Not even self-defense against me can apply to this?'

Yet a different set of words came from his mouth, slightly muffled by his mask which was also quickly followed by a swift action. His other hand reached over to the recently impaled appendage and pulled the knife swiftly from his hand, spraying droplets blood onto the ground from the knife and with it, left a small wound in his hand.

"Say,

To Shepard's luck, they didn't catch most of what he said, but instead only saw a gas-masked man wave a knife at them, practically implying to the thugs that their lives were his. A few of them were slightly perturbed by this action, but quickly changed as they stepped forward, drawing out their own strange looking weapons; some of them folding out and extending into a staff of some kind or axes that looked like they could be guns of sorts from the obvious barrel sticking from the end of it.

Shepard reached up with the knife and tore off some of his sleeve in an attempt to make an emergency medical bandage. 'Now that is just unfair. I get a knife, that isn't even mine by the way, and an injured hand. While the rest of you are going to gang up on me with these transformer-esc like weapons.' He thought over while wrapping his hand in the rags he tore from his uniform.

He took a step forward but was stopped by a hand resting on his shoulder. Turning to face the one who placed it upon him, he found himself face to face with the monkey boy; his face much more serious then what it had been. "The White Fang; I knew I wasn't just seeing things. Listen, take a step back. I don't want someone without an aura to end up getting hurt, especially someone that I still need to get answers from." He flashed a smile before stepping in front of Shepard and pulling out a weapon of his own from the back of his shirt.

A pair of dark-red sticks with gold detailing across them along with the small bits that connected them together. It gave off a look of… 'They're nun-chucks. I'm going to fight alongside a monkey-Bruce Lee. I swear I can't be surprised anymore by this point.' The boy let the weapons fall to his side and with a few quick spins of the nunchakus he snapped them together to create a staff, and then quickly took a stance with it, the smile on his face still unfazed. 'Never mind. I take it back. Nun-chuck staffs are something that can still surprise me, most definitely.'

Shepard flipped the knife in his hand and stood next to the boy before speaking to him. "We get out of this, I'll answer _some_ of your questions, alrighty detective?"

He turned to face him, and the Faunus was smiling even more than before, his stance was extremely relaxed and after a quick second he brought out something before flashing it towards Shepard…

It as a badge, a _junior_ detective badge that the police office would give out to children who thought being a police officer was the coolest thing in the world. Before Shepard could say anything, the boy spoke. "Alright _Temporary_ Partner let's apprehend some criminals." He tucked the badge away and took his stance once again, leaving Shepard stunned, and after a quick sigh he started walking towards the group who, by some surprise stood there letting them talk it out the entire time like a bunch of fools.

The distance between them started to shrink as Shepard and the boy started walking towards them menacingly; their cowardice beginning to shine as they started to mutter under their breath. 

"That guy, no, _thing_ is crazy, and the other one is a Hunter. I thought we were helping him?" The shortest one of the group spoke, a black bushy tale swung behind him.

The largest one, the one he guessed to have flung the knife at him since the knife belt that he had across his chest was missing one, barked at the man. His floppy ears, which he saw an interesting resemblance to a bloodhound ears; hanging down just like the weapon that laid by his feet. A spiked ball sat on the ground with a chain connecting it to a handling that rested in his hand.

'A… what's the name for it.' Shepard stopped moving while he brought the knife tip to his chin, bouncing it off of it ever so slightly, stopping the boy as well as he glanced towards him. 'It's not a mace since it has a chain, and calling it a ball-and chain makes it seem as if it didn't have any spikes on it…' Everyone stared at him for a few seconds before he flipped the knife into the air, the atmosphere around Shepard darkening in every sense possible.

As if the name sparked an entirely different tone, the once injured Shepard spoke. "That's a mighty fine flail you have there, mind if I borrow it?" The question grumbled out of his throat, a deep tone that brought the attention of the bloodhound thug away from the flipping knife onto Shepard, making him widen his eyes.

Red, glowing eyes stared at the Faunus, a stare that would scare even some of the most courageous men alive. His mouth started to mouth out a response of what he could have guessed to be a frightened 'no', but before he could finish Shepard spoke again. "I should make it clear I wasn't really asking."

The knife appeared back in front of Shepard, everyone's attention back upon him once again, all of them aware of the change that had overtaken his appearance. Before anyone could react to the sudden change, Shepard took ahold of the knife that was now falling lower, and after falling to one knee, he flicked his wrist and out flung the blade towards the largest Faunus; who was still stunned by the entire encounter he just experienced.

Dashing quickly after the blade, though not as quickly as before during his previous escape, Shepard still moved faster than the group before they could react to his actions. To his surprise, the blade didn't stab into the chest of the Faunus like he planned it to, but instead made him stumble backwards slightly into the others, a dazed look plastered on his face along with the now empty hand that once held the handle of his weapon. The knife that he threw falling to the feet of the group.

"Thanks anyways though- "Shepard took ahold of the falling handle and brought his arm around as he spun on his toe, swinging the once dormant flail off the ground and flying towards the head of the Faunus.

He expected a quick splash of blood to fill his vision but was met with a different feeling. The flair didn't splatter the Faunus's head like he suspected, but instead simply collided with his face as if he was protected by some sort of forcefield, but that still didn't stop the momentum that quickly followed the flair and with it sent him flying into a nearby wall, leaving only his body to hang limply from it.

Shepard started to wind up another swing but was met with a sudden weight on his back in the shape of a hand which quickly disappeared, but appeared in the monkey boy launching over him, his feet planting themselves into the chest of one of the other thugs.

The thug doubled over backwards and jumped to his feet, which Shepard mentally suggested was a terrible idea and that he should have stayed on the ground. In a quick follow, up the boy thrusted the end of his staff into the chest of the thug and a small explosion seemed to burst from the end and with that it flung the thug out into the street, startling the passersby's that happened to experience the sudden body crashing into a cabbage stall.

A man fell to his knees while clutching his fading, grey hair and staring at the mess that once was his stall. "MY CABBAGES!" **[1***

He suspected resistance from the others after seeing two of them get taken down rather quickly, but instead there was nothing but the patter of feet on the ground and the dust that was now getting kicked into his face. They were running away of all things.

"Would you look at that, two on seven and they still ran; what a shame." The monkey boy collapsed his weapon and tucked it back under his shirt. Turning around, a look of confusion appeared on his face. "What happened to… all of this?" He gestured with his hands to his face, neck, then his arms.

Shepard glanced down for a second and noticed that his arms looked the same as they always did and shrugged it off before speaking. "Don't know what you're taking about, but- "

He was about to finish his sentence until he was stopped and brought back down to the ground, but not before he was caught by the monkey boy. The strength in his legs seemed to have left him entirely, and the flair that he was once holding seemed like nothing less than a bag full of bricks. Shepard was about to question what it was that they just ran into but was stopped as a click of a camera went off. Looking up, he saw the monkey boy taking a picture of the man on the ground and the other who was now sliding out of the wall, still unconscious.

"I need evidence for when we get back. Also, don't worry about anything; I have a good friend and her family that live nearby, and I'd think they'd be fine with caring for your injury."

Shepard started to speak but decided to hold his tongue. He didn't seem any harm with getting the wound on his hand treated, and maybe even cleaned up some. A shower didn't sound half bad.

Walking out of the alleyway, the monkey boy had Shepard's arm over his shoulder, his legs still not wanting to work as well as they should. "I caught your name was Adrian Shepard, right? Strange name." He almost started to say something before he continued. "The name's Sun, Sun Wukong. The pleasures mine." Right, Shepard was the one with a strange name.

Standing completely outside of the alleyway, Shepard caught sight of something very off with his surroundings. The pole that he remembered grabbing ahold of was bent in an almost perfect 90-degree angle, the bend twisted and malformed. He shuttered at the thought of what would have happened if he would have grabbed anything else.

"You said you were of the United States… what was it again?"

"I'm part of the Marine's, well was." Shepard quickly remembered that he was not only on another planet, but the from the looks of it he was probably listed either MIA, or KIA. "Forget about it but do understand it's not part of this _ATLAS_ I've been hearing as of lately." Sun gave him a surprised glance before smiling.

"So, you're not Atlas huh; I bet it some sort of secret force for one of the four kingdoms. No wait let me guess, it's a task force to stop terrorism of any kind, all around the world, and it's composed of the best Hunters from all of the Kingdom. Now you're here in hopes of finding the source of the White Fang?" He looked down at Shepard with a curious smile. "Am I right?"

Shepard sighed as he struggled to get his legs working so he could get off of Sun's shoulder. "Yeah, sure. Let's go with that." He failed to stand and remained on the boy's shoulder.

The boy pumped a fist at his side. "I knew it. But hold on, you clearly don't have an aura, so how did you…oh. You were joking."

Shepard held back another sigh as he spoke up again. "I'll tell you some of what you want to know when I get healed up. This whole 'dying from a simple hand wound' doesn't really sound the best thing to go out like." This is what really had Shepard's attention at the moment. He didn't understand what was going on currently, the wound on his hand was bleeding rather profusely and the rag that he had applied to it fell of after the entire encounter, and he didn't necessarily trust Sun but there wasn't exactly any other option at this point.

His suit kept reading that his vitals were perfectly fine, no toxin reading this time, no sign of blood loss, nothing… nothing at all. While he'd normally take it to the armory to get it checked and possibly have a diagnostic ran over it, he doubted it anyone on this planet knew how his vest worked; hell, he hardly understood how it worked.

A sudden pain shot through his entire body, this time from stopping any sort of movement that he was assisting Sun with. He could feel it now, all of it practically. That crash from the dumpster did do something to his body, possibly rupturing something along with breaking multiple bones maybe. Shepard was extremely worried at this point, his suit either misread his vitals or the entire thing was shot from the impact. Whatever it was, it wasn't good.

"Oh right, don't worry. We're almost there." Sun stammered as he slightly walked faster. He didn't even question how he was carrying him like he was nothing; Shepard wasn't even trying to help with his weight, he didn't have the strength too.

"We can see it right-past-this-corner. Here we are, well, here we see it that is."

Shepard glanced upwards and groaned at the sight he saw. 'Right back where we started Adrian. Great job, absolutely fantastic.' Then they began their decent towards the second place where his entire, chaotic adventure with this world began.

Minutes later and the two of them were standing in front of two large metal doors, the blood loss that Shepard had taken on by this point affecting him rather much to the point where Sun had taken notice of it. "Holy- you're bleeding!"

"And you're one hell of a detective." He muttered under the sound of his now ragged breathing.

"Why didn't you say anything, like maybe how the bandage you had, had fallen off? Or how there's blood coming from your mask?" He said while lifting Shepard more onto his shoulder in an attempt to prevent any further injury that could possibly come.

"You could've died! I'm sorry man about the whole 'not noticing' part, but I keep on forgetting that you don't have an aura. How did you even become a Hunter?"

He started to open his mouth to respond before one of the doors slid open, a woman with two prominent cat ears sitting atop of her head stepped out. "Sun is that you? I told you that- oh dear!"

The woman stared at Shepard with worried eyes, her glance shooting from the blood on the ground to his hand and on his uniform, then back to Sun. "Where did you find him?"

"Adrian here had a run in with the White Fang, we took care of it, but he doesn't have an aura. We need to treat him immediately. I have no idea what exactly is wrong with him." Sun said in an ever-worrying tone, stepping forward as the woman opened the door.

"Take him to the clinic, I'll tell Ghira and call the doctor." She closed the door quickly and walked up next to the two of them. "Don't worry Adrian, we'll get you treated and back to your feet. Just stay with us."

Shepard wanted to speak, but he understood what this meant. Firstly, Ghira would recognize him by just his name, to add to the fact he probably knew that he escaped when he wasn't looking to avoid any more questions that he had. He brought his bloodied hand to his back and felt the folder, sighing in relief to himself that he hadn't lost it… again.

A sudden ping brought his attention as he lowered his head and saw that the once unread vitals were now flashing red, the sensors practically brought back to life when he entered the house as if it were proximity based now. The flow of morphine into his system changed everything in his current state; thankfully adding a sense of floating and absence to his surroundings. This made ignoring the blaring suits systems much easier and more pleasant to his aching ears.

He glanced around and noticed that the woman had disappeared and that the room they were entering was much different than the one he woke up in previously. A well-stocked medical room from the looks of it, something that you would only see in the houses of those who were of high enough standing to have their own doctor of sorts. Of course, Shepard understood this as he had a faint idea of who exactly Ghira was, and to add onto the fact he'd possibly have to deal with him more since his daughter was one of the children in the folder.

'Just my luck I guess.' He sighed internally to himself. 'I know that _Orange Bastard_ is here, I just hope that he is having just a bad time as I am.'

 _ **Meanwhile across the world with the mentally troubled scientist and his band of super-children**_ __

Gordon and Nora sneezed as they were walking away from the crumbled town, the two sharing a glance and saying "Bless you" to one another as they each found it rather strange that they sneezed at the exact same time. Both of them thinking that someone was talking about them, thought the reasons different for them. Nora thought that someone was commenting on her hair color and how it didn't go with the pink of her outfit; while Gordon was remembering someone cursing at him before he jumped into the portal back at Black Mesa, and that they were doing it again.

They shook off this feeling and continued on their way.

 _ **Back with Adrian Shepard upon Menagerie**_ __

No, what took most of Shepard's attention to getting used to be an empty feeling while holding a certain object in his hands. He sat alone in the medical room at the current moment, the doctor had already left and anyone else in the homestead been told to give him some time to rest, however long that would be not even he knew.

What sat in Shepard's hands was something that stuck with him rather closely throughout his entire encounter within Black Mesa, and its durability having withstood much more than he thought it would have.

His gas mask stared back at him with dark, empty eyes. The green luminescence that once shown from them was non-existent without the power that was supplied to it when on. Multiple gashes and scrapes sat on the outside, the black coloring making them stand out more than ever. The filters that sat on the outside had not been changed a single time since entering Black Mesa, yet they still performed the task that they excelled at. It was like some sort of magical force propelled them to be limitless and yet the part of him that wanted to justify everything, just wanted to say that the scientists had created a masterpiece by mistake and he was lucky enough to get it. Of course, this wasn't the truth, no matter how much he wanted it.

"Okay, I didn't exactly think out my actions, but I did find out some interesting information. Before I ended back up here, I met up with another Faunus, a boy by the name of Sun Wukong. You know, blonde hair, monkey tail, a strange fixation with dressing up like someone from Cali, but that's beside that point. We encountered a strange group of thugs before taking care of them. They were all wearing these strange- "

Before Shepard could continue, the door to the room opened once more and a new face he hadn't seen before poked their head through. Clear cat ears like the ones he saw on the woman from before, black hair as well. That wasn't what stood out to him out of these details, it was more what she said in the small second, she spoke.

"Dad, could I- "She stopped herself, the yellow eyes staring at Shepard's green visors. She stared for a few more seconds before quickly exiting, Ghira's attitude having changed in that split second from even seeing her, and Shepard saw it all; a weakness that the former White Fang leader had, a daughter; _the_ daughter that he was searching for as part of his mission on this world that would supposedly lead to a major change of events to come.

"Blake, give me a few moments then we'll- "

"It's fine. I understand, it's business correct." She turned around, with a rather agitated tone. "Never mind then." With that abrupt end she closed the door and left both Ghira and Shepard alone in a stale atmosphere created in that small encounter. He didn't know exactly what to say, but he figured if he was going to say anything it would be to cheer up the situation, even if it was only slightly.

Now that was an overstatement if Shepard had anything to say over it. He would gladly have thrown the folder to anyone that had the clear intent on taking his life. He can run easier from the authorities while alive, then lying flat with a bloody folder clutched to his chest. But since this was a somewhat serious time, he figured that he should have a plausible answer. "The fate of the world depends on those children; the responsibility is in their hands; it's just my job to gather them."

"So, you need Blake to save the world, huh?"

Halfway through his journey of what he could contemplate as one of the key missions since arriving upon Remnant, a terrifying planet with super-powered everything; he encountered a problem. Rather than an obstacle like that of a maid or maybe the owner of the house himself, Shepard was, but one thing overall. He extremely was lost.

It wasn't such a trivial thing as many might imagine, the largest reason being for this is not only that he couldn't even find the room he was previously in, but instead he was outside overlooking many rooftops. Looking up though, he made sure to take note of one major difference from Earth, his homely planet that he misses, or at least tried to tell himself that he did.

Shepard stared at the moon, the shattered moon of all things. By no surprise did it catch his attention, a shattered moon is most defiantly a different view to see. He wanted to attempt to explain to himself the consequences of a shattered moon and how it would affect the planet they were on, but he wasn't a scientist.

Shepard took another step forward but was stopped by a single hand on his shoulder. He went to grab for it, but his wrist was gripped tightly on his other arm and pinned to his back, a familiar voice speaking up.

"I just sent her in there Mr. Shepard, I'd appreciate it if you didn't interfere."

He still couldn't turn around, but the voice was recognizable of that of the woman that greeted them at the door when he was injured. He'd still hadn't found the time, or rather her to ask her for her name at all. So, he did the only thing he could do, and that was guess. "Miss… Belladonna?"

The grip lessened on his arm, serving as a major hit on what he just previously guessed. A sigh escaped from her and the hold that was once on his arm was released completely and after a quick spin while rubbing his wrists he was met with a gaze that spoke more words than a simple conversation could do. What they spoke loudest of most of all, was a strange feeling that he hadn't seen in quite some time; hope. Why exactly she was looking at him with those eyes were something else entirely, and Shepard didn't want to simply ask what she meant by that, but it was more awkward to just stand there in silence.

So, he decided to brake it. "I'm… I'm just going to stay here and wait to speak with Mr. Belladonna, Miss- "

"It's Kali dear, please don't hesitate to ask for help while you're hear, Sun brought you here and that means more than anything. Just... Just don't say anything to rash. A father and daughter have plenty of catching up to do."

Shepard started to open his mouth but stopped. He just nodded his head in response and watched as Kali walked away and back into the house, leaving him all alone… or so he thought once more.

A low rumble started to sound in the spot where Kali once stood, and with it appeared a bluish-green hue before the space before him practically tore itself apart with a rainbow of electricity sparking to it's surroundings and slightly singing the wood around it. A box came from the center in a flash, and just as it appeared, the electrical phenomenon vanished, leaving only a small crate in it's wake.

Shepard hesitated for only a second before approaching it. 'There's no reason to be scared of such a thing; sure, it just appeared out of thin air, but it can't be less alien than the planet I'm on now, can it?' He chuckled to himself before reading the white label that sat atop the box.

…

 _ **To:**_ Corporal Adrian Shepard of the United States Marine Core; _subdivision_ HCEU

 _ **From:**_ Black Mesa Biological Weaponry Development Team

 _ **(Gastrin Sector 47-**_ _ **¤π-Oᵹ-E‡**_ _ **), (Classified) to Menagerie, Remnant**_

 _ **Additional Notes-**_

 _There's been a lack of progress Corporal Shepard, and a liability is one that I do not wish to have. We have sent you the necessary equipment at the current moment that is required to complete your task. Do not make us regret choices, complete the assignment._

 _For additional requisitions, please contact_

 _J_

… _._

Shepard stared at the label for a few more seconds before deciding that whatever he just read was completely useless in his current situation and that whatever was inside this box would make his life ten times easier than it was before. He didn't care who J was, or wherever the hell that stupid place that it was from, hell; he could hardly read half of it. Then there 'was' the problem of the assignment, he was still going off of fumes last time he checked.

Letting out a sigh, he decided he should just open up the box and get it over with. Reaching to the sides, he noticed that it was just a simple hatch release and there was no need for a wrench to break it open, thankfully.

After fumbling around with the latches, he lifted the lid off of the box and after but a second of staring at the contents of the box, he smiled widely. The first thing to catch his eye was a small label attached to the object, a simple introduction sticker, the words on it reading-

" _Hello, my name is_ _ **Specimen 1177**_ _"_

Reaching down, a familiar texture came across his fingertips, but before he could continue, the sound of surprise reached his ear.

"My scroll!?"

Grabbing ahold of the object, Shepard lifted himself up and turned around the corner to where he last saw Blake entering the room but was greeted with a new sight. Sun was there, and so being Blake, but there was a new face, or rather mask to this party. They sat in the tree adjacent to the balcony, and in their hand was a small white object.

Everyone's attention turned to Shepard, and their eyes bulged in response, even with the mask on Shepard could tell that they were just as surprised as the other two were.

Covering the entirety of his hand was a slightly red, and green colored, almost block of flesh that resembled nothing that the two have ever seen. Multiple lines of glowing yellow ran across it, connecting to one another as if it was forming some sort of pattern. At the opposite end of where his hand was at was a very different story. Six claws like appendages stuck from a round circle, where at the center sat a strange, dark red ball; slightly dripping with what they could only hope to be saliva of whatever it was. It squirmed around on his hand and occasionally closed and opened the claws around its mouth…hole.

"What? You all have your weird transforming weapons and I can't have an alien? I find this kinda offensive honestly."

Blake started to open her mouth but was stopped as Sun shouted over them. "Their getting away, we have to chase them." They nodded to each other and took off, leaving Shepard alone on the balcony with his friend in hand.

Shepard patted the hand-held creature and spoke to it, more over mentally than physically. 'Don't worry about anything, their just jealous that their weapons aren't living creatures and have feelings as well.' He glanced around for a second, contemplating on what to do. 'There aren't any of the yellow orbs for you to grab ahold of, but since you're here, I suppose you'll grab just about anything now, isn't that right?'

As if on que, the Barnacle wiggled on his hand, prompting him to aim it at the branch in front of him. "No time like the present, now is it?" A squeeze of his hand and the long tongue launched itself out and to the branch, grabbing hold of it with its sticky appendage and with it the strength to pull Shepard off his feet, and over the balcony railing… towards the ground.

Shepard quickly pulled his legs up as he enclosed closer onto the ground, only for him to swing back slightly as the tongue began to pull him up faster. A quick flip of the wrist and the tongue detached itself from the branch and flung himself onto it, and after a quick steading, he stood proudly only for him to recognize one major fact. If he was going to catch up to them, he was going to have to move much faster than he just did.

He glanced towards the nearest branch and held his breath as he sprinted and leaped off of the one he was just on, reaching his arm out and squeezing once more, launching the tongue at the appointed tree instead of just the limb. It hooked on and with his momentum flung him past his previous target, and thus began his flight through the mess of trees and after the three that were far ahead of him.

…

After what he could only describe as an intense 'George of the Jungle' esc swinging chase after the three, he arrived at what he could describe as a mixture of a street brawl, but on the rooftops. The masked figure was easily taking on both Sun and Blake as she swiftly dodged their strikes or matched theirs with their own.

Shepard started to make a move in on the fight when a quick change of pace happened.

Sun quickly moved in when Blake seemed to dash towards a small white object on the ground, only for the masked figure to run towards it as well. The two collided in a few kicks back and forth before the object

"Grab the scroll! Seems _someone_ things it's important!"

Blake sent another glance towards where the object spun off too before the figure, spoke, or rather yelled.

"Get off!"

The masked figure headbutted Sun, sending him sprawling off of them, and cracking off a part of the mask and revealing their left eye, and with it a strange pattern on their skin. They continued to try and beat Blake to the piece that still lied on the ground, but was stopped by a bright yellow… hologram? Then another, then finally two more tackled them to the ground. Blake stopped running towards the piece and stared at Sun, who was now holding a strange pose with the same yellow aura surrounding him. He then shouted towards Blake who locked eyes with him.

"Quit staring and grab it!"

Blakes stupor seemed to have broken after those words and started to run, and at the same time Sun, who Shepard could visibly see to be struggling for some reason released his pose then fell to his knees, and the yellow aura that once surrounded him broke, along the holograms that were once holding down the masked figure.

They stood up and raised a strange looking weapon towards Blake, all while Sun yelled out to her.

"Blake, watch out!"

Blake quickly spun around and raised the object, which now started to strangely resemble a transparent computer pad, only for the rest of the mask on their face to crumble apart, revealing who was beneath; a girl nonetheless. Shepard was about to move once again, completely oblivious to how he must've looked watching all of this happen, only to stop once more as Blake spoke.

"Ilia."

'Wait, she knows her name?'

Sun, finally able to get to his feet spoke as well. "Wait, you know her?! But she doesn't even look like a f-aagh!"

He was immediately cut off when the girl spun around and flicked her weapon towards him, which surprisingly stretched it out and lighted up a flashy yellow like lighting, and stabbed him directly in the shoulder, only for him to cry out in pain and fall down.

Blake shouted his name in panic. "Sun!"

The girl shout towards Blake. "Give it to me!"

"No."

The girl, the girl did something that made Shepard step back in surprise. She changed colors, quite literally changed colors directly in front of them, like-like some sort of lizard, no, chameleon. She glared daggers at Blake.

"You shouldn't have come back."

She raised her weapon and with it created a plum of dust blocking sight of her to those around, those excluding Shepard. She started to make a run for it, and he saw that the other two were out of it completely and took it upon himself since he didn't do anything during that entire sequence, that he should at least get answers from someone that wasn't injured, or emotionally distressed.

Dashing forward from the shadows he was previously standing in under the moonlight, Shepard took after the girl, who's name he decided to not remember mostly because it was of little importance, or at least that was what he wanted to tell himself and not the fact that he didn't even hear it. His boots clambered against the rooftop they were on, and he saw that he'd have to pass by the two.

Reaching into his vest pocket, he pulled out a small red box and tossed It towards the two, it falls perfectly next to Blakes leg. This drew her attention from the bleeding Sun in front of her, which quickly drew her attention from the box to Shepard running past her and reaching down to grab what he guessed to be her weapon.

"I'll bring it back, maybe it pieces, but back."

He grabbed the sword/sheath looking weapon before tucking it through a belt-loop and continuing his run forward.

She stared wide eyed at him before he turned around and continued the run after the girl, which soon turned into a swift jump from the top of the roof to the ground, graciously helped by his recently reunited friend, made the fall from leg breaking into a simple tuck and roll. Sprinting forward, he caught sight of a familiar weapon rounding a familiar corner, one with a special pole sitting next to it.

Shepard kept his pace as he quickly followed suit; only to duck on reflex as a yellow glow came into his vision, only to disappear behind him as he rolled forward and turned to face his aggressor. There she was again, only this time it was a much more agitated face mixed with a sort of confusion. Before he could speak, she interrupted him, a process that began to show itself more and more since he arrived.

"Who are you, and why are you here?"

He drew out Blakes weapon and held it to what he assumed to be an extremely large clever before he spotted a small lever, which after pressing allowed him to pull out what looked to be a katana and having the sheath/cleaver fall to the ground. He looked it over for a few seconds before his fingers fumbled around and ended up pressing yet another switch, transforming It in his free hand into that of a simple Glock, with a rather large blade atop of it.

The girl was staring at him with pure confusion now as he continued to fumble with the weapon before he settled leaving it where it was at and pointing it towards the girl. "Alright. I'm tired of these damn things, and I think I'll settle with something simple, and maybe also alien." Shepard then held up the barnacle in his other hand to aim it towards her, the alien mouth salivating at the possible pray in front of it.

That alone caused her to take a step back, possibly frightened by the sight of something what others would call grotesque, where he just found it rather pleasant. He took a step forward, making the girl tense up slightly with her weapon. "Or we can settle this in a much easier way, without someone having to be eaten. Drop your weapon and come back with me."

They each waited a few seconds with only the sound of what Shepard assumed to be crickets chirping in the background before she moved. A flick of her wrist and the weapon extended itself towards him only to be reflected by the gun and allowed him to squeeze his hand around the alien, shooting the tongue out towards her, and effectively wrapping itself around her arm. Her attention quickly turned from Shepard to her arm and a look of panic crossed her face while Shepard only smiled underneath his mask.

It then turned into a struggle match between the two, each pulling towards one another. It didn't surprise that such a small girl was easily able to compete with his strength, mostly because superpowers are ridiculous, and extremely unfair. While the two continued at it, he remembered on the fly that his other hand was still occupied by a certain weapon. Raising it upward, he left loose a follow of shots towards the girl, scattering her foothold, causing her to stumble onto the ground, letting go of her weapon, and allowed the alien to pull her in closer without any further difficulty.

Her face was now full of terror, but before the eventual claws enveloped her head, it stopped. This caught Shepard off guard as he was used to his alien friend devouring anything that it caught and wouldn't stop unless it wasn't; how did the scientist put it, organic/alive. Instead the alien just slowly moved its claw like appendages, running them across her face as if it were appraising its meal. It terrified Shepard to think of it like that, but before he could try anything else, the tongue released its victim, and unlike it's user, they didn't hesitate to capitalize on the situation.

A quick sweep of his feet, and he was on the ground with the girl backflipping to where her weapon was. She bent over and picked it up before sending one last look at Shepard as he was standing up, then ran off again. This time he didn't chase, instead he was more preoccupied with the newly changed alien that was on his hand, and how it was no longer an endless hungering pit of a weapon, but instead was picky, or something entirely different.

'Just what are you now, and what's up with the new look? You look like something out of Star Trek or something, all shining and such.' He sighed before reaching down to pick up Blakes weapon, that surprisingly returned to its original form as a sword, with the sheath lying right next to it. He slid the sword back in and placed it back into its holster on his belt-loop before starting his trek back to wherever the building he jumped off of was, and the eventual climb, then walk back to the Belladonna's house.

Wait, he started to think on the one thing that tied much of what his day implied, and one thing stood out entirely from the rest. 'The White Fang is a terrorist organization, and the ones that I ran into today with the stupid looking masks, just like hers was, are actually part of this entire group?' He ran it through his head a few more times before sitting on a nearby wooden crate.

"I hate my job" Shepard grumbled under his mask.

…

 **And it's the end of this chapter, would you look at that. A 'friendly' return of those once lost. More plot to be moved forward, and so on. I'm almost** **finished with my contract, and then I'll be back home, which means faster updates-woo.**

 **Because of this, and what I hope will eventually turn out to be a faster turn-out rate of chapters, I'd be glad for any assistance sent my way. I'm desperate, but not really, but quite a bit.**

 **Besides that, I hope you all have an absolutely wonderful time from wherever you are across the world, even if you're not in Hawaii. Mahalo.**

 **I think I said that right.**


	16. Update on Status

Hello everyone and I suppose I should say welcome back, to all of us, or something of that sort. First thing I wish to do is apologize for this entire time of being uninformed and left in the dark. I was bedridden for quite some time due to a certain sickness, and only recently was I hospitalized. The entirety of the disease was removed, (Though it's a genetic one, so there's still a chance for flare-ups) and because of that disease being there in the first place; all motivation was non-existent within me. So once again, I apologize.

As for the story, it is most certainly not finished, and I will be continuing it. I absolutely love writing this, thought the last chapter might not show as that was when the problems started and everything went down the drain. I have too many drafts to count of the same chapter multiple times, all taking different directions of things, and while some of you would like to see the drafts to possibly justify my tardiness, (or not since you all are wonderful) I am terrible at showing readers uncompleted works.

So once again, I am sorry for being gone this entire time, and I am now back to update not just this story, but others as well. If you have notifications on for me, (bless you for that all of you wonderful people) this will show up multiple times on my other stories for those that don't necessarily read all of my work.

If any of you have any questions, concerns, criticisms, maybe ideas, or just general curiosity, please either PM me or email me at **professorbreakfeast**

Signed yours truly

Professor Pancakes

 **As of 5/7/2019 07:50 AM**


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